


Roses Bloom on Remnant

by Lord_Byron_Mudkippington



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angel/Demon Relationship, F/F, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-13
Updated: 2018-08-29
Packaged: 2019-06-26 23:44:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 23,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15673677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lord_Byron_Mudkippington/pseuds/Lord_Byron_Mudkippington
Summary: Meeting for the first time at Beacon Academy, Ruby and Weiss can't help but feel that they know each other from somewhere. Each new day together brings stronger feelings towards that being the case. They just need to figure out where they knew each other from, and why they can't remember it anymore. (A sequel to No Roses Grow in Hell)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, I've finally written a sequel to No Roses Grow in Hell. Just over two years late. I wrote it as a one shot, but after it bloomed into 21,000 words, I decided to split it into four chapters. It'll make reading it easier that way.

"Wow..." Ruby looked up in awe at Beacon Academy. The size of the school was tremendous: much larger than the school she was coming from. Not only was it large, but it was intimidating as well. The fist-pumping excitement from having stopped a thieving villain had dulled somewhat over the passing days, and those emotional receptors in her brain had instead decided to start producing lots and lots of worry. Was she going to do well at this new school? Could she even make any friends there? She wasn't sure how the other students were going to react knowing that she'd been allowed to attend earlier than most. Maybe they'd think she was some kind of... nerd, or something.

It would've been worse if Yang wasn't already attending. Having her sister to guide her along and show her the ropes made her feel much more at ease as opposed to having to go in without any kind of support system. She didn't want to completely depend on her sister for everything, but she had to admit that it was nice to have one connection at the school.

At the moment, however, she was without Yang. They'd both ended up on the campus grounds together, but her older sister had walked off somewhere and left her on her own. She was determined to not be scared, though. There was nothing to be scared of, anyway. Nothing could hurt her on campus... probably. With her suitcase in tow, she was certain she could explore the campus without getting lost or in trouble. That did work... for a little bit, at least.

It didn't take her long to betray herself. Seeing all the different parts of the campus got her excited, and she had a temporary lapse in 'paying attention to her surroundings'. Specifically, she had begun to walk backwards so she get another look at the sky walkway when something stopped her momentum. More than one thing, actually. Multiple pieces of luggage, which she knocked off of the cart they were on with her backside. That was when she found out that maybe there was at least one thing to be scared of on campus.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" Ruby whirled around, prepared to immediately spew out an apology for knocking over someone's luggage. However, she was frozen on the spot by the cold, piercing gaze that seemed to be trying to set her on fire right where she stood. A girl with long, snow-white hair was staring her down, and she looked none too happy with what Ruby had done.

"I'm really sorry!" Ruby smiled as brightly as she could, trying to use her positive attitude to make the girl calm down. "Here, let me help you!" She reached down and grabbed one of the suitcases, but nearly dropped it when the other girl let out an angry screech. Jeez, the way this girl was acting, someone would've thought her luggage had been trampled by a pack of Grimm.

"Don't touch it! You'll do more damage!" She reached down and slapped at Ruby's hand to get her away from the fallen luggage, but as soon as their hands made contact, she yanked it back like she'd been burned. Ruby didn't see what the girl was doing, or why she had pulled away. She was just staring down at the luggage. Or, more specifically, her hand still on the luggage.

Slowly she stood back up, but she couldn't take her eyes off of her hand. When their hands had touched, she'd felt something. She couldn't explain it, but it was like... some sort of electrical current. It was heated, and she could still feel whatever it was tingling on her skin. Looking up at the girl, she could tell that she wasn't alone in what she was feeling. She was also staring at her hand, her eyes wide.

"What was that?! What did you do?!" The other girl snapped out of it fast, her expression surprisingly angry as she focused it all on Ruby. She shirked back automatically, putting her hands up defensively. Something felt different, though. She could tell that there was more than just anger in those eyes. It was like she was... scared? Such conflicting emotions. There was something... familiar about it.

"I didn't do anything!" Ruby tried to profess her innocence, though it didn't seem like the other girl was interested in her explanations. Not that there was much of one for her to give. They both were clearly unsure about what had happened. Did they know each other? She stared at the girl with a more critical eye, trying to wrack her brain for something that would render her familiar, but... nothing. They'd surely never met before, but why did she feel like there was something she needed to say?

"Just... Just put my luggage back on the cart, alright?" Apparently she'd changed her mind about Ruby handling her suitcases. She was clearly shaken by whatever had happened, so honestly Ruby couldn't blame her. Nor could she blame herself for starting to put the suitcases back up without any complaint. It felt like the moment had passed, but there was still a weird tension hanging around them. She wasn't sure what to do or what to say, and it was bothering her way too much.

Once all the luggage had been returned to its proper place, Weiss grabbed the cart and took off for the main building. She gave one last look back at Ruby, then walked off. Ruby wanted to stop her, but she didn't know why. So she just stood there and watched her visage disappear from view. She didn't know how long she would've stood there if not for a hand suddenly squeezing her shoulder.

"Hey, are you okay?" Yang leaned over Ruby, frowning as she examined her. "You were spacing out there. What were you staring at?"

"Uh, I... I bumped into this girl, and..." Ruby struggled to explain what exactly happened. She found it difficult to put what she had felt into words, though. "I feel like I've met her before, but I've never met her before."

"Oh, is that all?" Yang laughed, looking relieved. "Maybe she just looks like someone you walked by on the street once or something. Deja vu and all." Grinning, she gently pushed on Ruby's shoulder, getting her to walk towards the main building. "Let's go inside and get settled, hmm? We gotta find a good spot to put our sleeping bags before orientation."

"Yeah, you're right." Ruby tried to shake off that strange feeling and concentrate on what was ahead of her. Specifically, that she was about to start her training to become a huntress! It was what she had wanted to be ever since she was a child, and this was the biggest step that she'd taken to trying to achieve that goal. That was where her concentration needed to go towards. Whatever strange feeling she had felt before was just that: a strange feeling.

* * *

It was orientation day. All of the prospective huntsmen and huntresses were lined up and waiting to be sent down into the forest. If they were going to be training to fight Grimm, then they might as well get started very... very early. Immediately. Weiss didn't mind, of course. She had full confidence in her abilities, and she was more than ready to defeat any monster that crossed her path. The one thing she was having trouble defeating was a strange feeling that persisted from the previous day.

She was extremely frustrated that she couldn't get that clumsy girl out of her mind. Even at her worst, she wouldn't spend this much time suffering fools, but there was something about that girl. She had no idea what it was, but there had been something strangely familiar about her. There had been something there in those wide silver eyes that sparked some sort of recognition within her brain. Try as she might, she couldn't remember just who that girl was. She'd even had trouble sleeping because her mind was annoyingly fixated on that issue. Well, that and not sleeping in a nice, plush bed wasn't her idea of a good night.

It was something she had to push aside, as much as her brain wanted to keep hyperfixating on it until an answer appeared. Sometimes there just wasn't going to be an answer. Maybe it was some secret inner stress over the orientation showing itself as deja vu. That probably wasn't it, though. She was Weiss Schnee: she didn't need to be worried about anything.

At least there was something bothering her that she could understand the reasoning for: the fact that the first person they made eye contact with would be their partners. She certainly did not want to have to drag some dead weight around while she working towards being the best huntress in the academy. Well, hopefully whoever she made eye contact with would be somewhat competent. Or maybe she should just learn to fight Grimm while blindfolded.

Her mind was temporarily cleared as she was launched into the forest along with the rest of her prospective classmates. Using her glyphs allowed her a safe landing, and she set off to find as many Grimm as she could without running into any other hunters. She was ready to prove herself to her teachers, and she would prove that she could do it on her own.

Of course, life doesn't always work the way you want it to. She did not get the chance to encounter a Grimm before running into another hunter. It couldn't have even been five minutes before it happened. And of course, to continue defying the odds of sense, the hunter that she saw in the clearing, the one that she - by complete accident - made eye contact with, was the girl with coal-black hair and bright silver eyes. Something in her mind made her feel like there couldn't have been any doubt that this would happen. It was like it was... like it was meant to be.

Neither of them said anything at first. Neither of them moved either. They just stood in the clearing like they'd been shackled to the earth, forced to stare at each other for eternity. At the very least, she could say something snarky or express her annoyance. _'Oh great, I'm stuck with_ you _for a partner.'_ Something like that. She couldn't, though. Her mouth wouldn't cooperate.

It was the rumbling howl of a nevermore that broke both of them from their paralysis. Both of them looked up into the sky, but they didn't see anything. It must've been farther off. Now it just meant that they had to face each other and whatever this elephant in the room was. "So, it... looks like we're partners, huh?" The girl smiled, but Weiss knew a forced smile when she saw one. Of course she would be the cause of that. She was sure that she had caused plenty of fake smiles to exist in her short lifetime.

"Just follow my lead and be quiet." She didn't have any time for pleasantries. With her sword at the ready, she walked right past the girl and deeper into the forest. However, it seemed the 'be quiet' part was not going to be heeded. She certainly appeared to have quite the mouth on her.

"Hey, I can fight too! I'm here to be a huntress, after all." Since it didn't seem to convince Weiss, she whipped out her weapon of choice and jogged in front of Weiss so she could unfurl it fully and get the full effect. It did work, as Weiss stopped in her tracks and stared at the huge red scythe that the girl was brandishing. How did someone so small carry something like that? "And this is Crescent Rose!"

"... So it is." She was no longer sure what to say. Why did she feel like this was supposed to be happening? She was starting to resent these feelings. There was no need for her to feel attachment to anyone, especially someone she didn't know. At least, she was pretty sure she didn't know her... No, she was confident she didn't. Whatever these thoughts were about, it was ridiculous. She had things to do. "Well, if you're so sure about being a huntress, then let's go. There's no point in staying here when there's Grimm to kill."

"Yeah, you're right. Let's go!" Like a switch was flipped, she went back to that cheery girl trying to put her luggage back on the cart. Weiss couldn't help but be... almost captivated by that emotional change. There was a light that seemed to surround that cheeriness, metaphorically. It made Weiss feel surprisingly light inside, though again it was an emotion that she couldn't explain. She was annoyed, but this time she was annoyed with herself for liking it.

Their time spent in the forest got a bit crazy. Neither of them could say that it wasn't interesting. They ended up meeting up with a tall blonde girl and a disinterested-looking girl with a bow in her hair. Despite what at times seemed to be a stunning lack of cohesion, they ended up getting through orientation together. Even slaughtered a few Grimm along the way. Weiss couldn't really call it a failure. Though honestly, she found it hard to call it a success either.

Of course, nothing involving her could finish without something resembling an argument happening. It was with the bow girl, who apparently had some kind of issue with her. What was her deal, anyway? They'd never even met! And this wasn't like with the other girl, who she knew she hadn't met, but felt like she had. This one she had no feelings of unknown connections with her. She was probably some right-minded protester who was mad about her father's company. Like she had any control over that!

In the end, she left the moment she was allowed to. She didn't want to spend another moment getting dirty looks from bow girl or curious stares from silver eyes. It made her feel like she was some piece of art on display. Probably something modern, considering the dirty looks. She didn't have to keep standing there and take that. If she had to be with a team, she really hoped that it wasn't with them.

As she walked away, Ruby watched her go with disappointment. "She didn't even tell us her name. And we all fought so well together too!"

"You don't know who that is?" Blake looked over at Ruby, wishing that she had that sort of cheerful ignorance. "That's Weiss Schnee. Her family is... It doesn't matter. She's bad news, bottom line. Believe me, she wouldn't stick around if we had taken down every Grimm in the forest."

"Won't you feel silly if we all end up on a team together," Yang chimed in, smirking as she elbowed Blake.

"Don't even say that." Blake groaned and folded her arms, clearly unamused by Yang's hypothetical scenario. They both started to walk off together, but they forgot a certain third member. Ruby hadn't moved since Blake had said that name. She had barely even listened to the rest of what she and Yang had been talking about. The name kept replaying in her mind, over and over again. _Weiss._ Like a hymnal chant she may have sung as a child. The name sounded so familiar. "Weiss..." She spoke it aloud, and it felt familiar. Comforting.

"Ruby?" Yang had realized that Ruby hadn't followed them. "Yo Rubes, you alright?" Shaking her head, Ruby snapped back to reality and jogged over to Yang and Blake. "What's up? You gonna be spacing out every day here?"

"No!" Ruby pouted, getting a chuckle from her big sister. "I was just... thinking about what team I might be on, that's all." It was a lie, but she didn't want to talk about her deja vu feelings again. Especially not in front of Blake, considering that she didn't really know her yet. It might make her sound crazy, and she wouldn't blame anyone for thinking that. She was feeling a bit crazy herself.

 _'Weiss...'_ She couldn't get that name out of her head. It was like she was meant to know that name for some reason: some purpose. But she didn't know what.

* * *

She fell asleep on Yang's shoulder while waiting for information on how the teams would be sorted out. Her dream was bright: too bright. She couldn't see anything because of some bright light. It covered all of her vision, and all she could hear were the sounds of someone - multiple people? - screaming and crying. The sounds pierced her heart as well as her ears, and throughout the entire dream only one word was playing on repeat in her mind. Sometimes it was too fast and jumbled to understand, but most of the time it was clear: Weiss.

Something from the dream, something she couldn't see, startled her, and she bolted awake. Nearly jumping out of her seat alerted Yang, who took note of the shocked look on Ruby's face. "Rubes? Did you have a bad dream?"

"Uh, yeah, I think..." Again, she was forced to shake off the residing thoughts of Weiss. It was weirding her out. There was obviously something going on, and she had no idea what it was. She wanted some kind of clarity, even if it meant that she had to admit that she was a bit out of her mind. Something needed to change. She needed a sign or... or something!

Much to her surprise, she _got_ that sign, and quicker than she expected. When the teams were announced, she found out that she was to be teamed up with Yang, Blake... and Weiss. There were so many emotions going through her mind, but many of them ended up in the background. Getting to be together with her big sister, and being the _leader_ of Team RWBY, no less, should've been exciting. It should've been the crowning achievement of her day, and something that she would've been excited and nervous about for days to come. But all she could think of was Weiss.

This had to be the sign. She was sure of it. When their hands had touched, she'd been certain that she'd felt something there. There'd been a connection, even if neither of them had been able to explain it. Then they met up in the forest, and now they were teammates. That couldn't be a coincidence. She didn't believe that for one second. If there was ever a time for her to put stock in fate, this was it. There was no doubt that there was a reason they were put together. She just had to figure out why.

She could tell that Weiss was thinking somewhere along the same lines as well. In fact, she didn't say a single word for the rest of the ceremony. She kept stealing glances at Ruby, though, as if trying to determine what exactly was going on. At least, that's what Ruby figured, since she was doing the same. She decided that the best thing to do was to have a private moment with Weiss to figure things out.

They had to get through the team ceremony and further words from Professor Ozpin. She had to wait out Blake and Weiss taking some time to be rude to each other for reasons she still didn't fully understand. And after all that, they were then shown to their rooms. Though it was nice to know where they'd be staying while at the academy, it unfortunately didn't give her an opportunity to speak to Weiss privately. If she decided to just pull Weiss out of the room and find a private spot, she didn't even want to start thinking about what kind of impression it'd leave on Yang and Blake.

She wasn't fully into things like she should've been, though. It wasn't that she didn't want to be, but every time she tried to act like a leader that day, her mind - and eyes - kept drifting over to Weiss. She tried her best to remain inconspicuous, but she could tell that she was being way too obvious. In a way, she wished that she and Weiss were in opposite places. Weiss was supposed to be staring at her, so it didn't look as strange. Though her looks were different than Yang's and Blake's. She could feel Weiss's gaze on her, even if she closed her eyes.

If Yang or Blake noticed her hesitance and her struggles, they didn't bring it up. Maybe they wanted to, but wanted to do so in private. While that would be nice of them, it would mean everyone would be in a holding pattern: just waiting for someone to be alone in order to talk to them. What a wild team they'd all ended up on together.

They never ended up with a chance to talk alone, so Ruby had to go to bed still thinking about what she wanted to say. Maybe all those constant thoughts of Weiss influenced her dreams, or maybe it was just fated to happen that way. Regardless, she wasn't even aware of the fact that she was in a dream during it. She was standing alone in their new room, wearing the clothes she'd had on earlier. Though for some reason all the color had been bleached out of them. They were just white now.

Something hit one of their windows, and she walked over to see what it was. Assuming someone had thrown a rock, she was surprised to find that it wasn't a some _thing_ : it was a some _one_. Her eyes widened at the sight of Weiss standing outside, as if waiting for her to allow her entrance. This would've been weird enough, but they were definitely not on the first floor. Not even close. She flung open the window. "Weiss? What are you doing out there?" It sounded stupid, but she didn't know what else to say.

"I'm waiting for you. Are you coming out or what?" Ruby just gawked at Weiss, then looked down. She immediately felt a sense of vertigo at seeing a seemingly endless stretch of white and blue mingling together. The outside of Beacon seemed to have vanished overnight, replaced with an expansive sky. It was as if the academy itself had ascended into the sky, leaving everything else behind in its wake.

"But we're in the sky! I... I think." She gestured outside, staring at Weiss as if she was crazy. Maybe _she_ was the one who was crazy, though. "How are you even doing that?"

"Doing what?"

"You know... Standing there! In the sky!" Weiss was starting to look confused, like Ruby was being the weird one there. "If I stepped out there, I'd fall all the way down!" For however long 'all the way' was. This still didn't explain how Weiss was standing there as if gravity was no longer applying to her.

"Don't you trust me?" Weiss smiled at her, and that smile made her feel unbelievably warm. It was unlike any smile she'd ever seen. It was so... so wonderful to bear witness to. Despite everything she'd just said, she found herself wordlessly stepping out of the room and into the sky, where to her complete disbelief, she didn't immediately plummet to her untimely demise. "See?"

"I... Woah..." She stared beneath her feet, just waiting for the drop that was never going to come. Then her attention was pulled back to Weiss, who had taken her hand in her own. She looked into Weiss's eyes, feeling that strange sense of familiarity burning inside her. It was so evident there, behind those eyes. Beneath the scar that... Underneath the warmth that she always had from... From what?

Weiss pulled her in, or maybe she moved on her own volition. She wasn't sure anymore. All she knew was that Weiss's hand was so warm in her own, and that smile was so nice and inviting. They were about to hug: about to _kiss_. Ruby could feel that everything she needed to know was right there in that warm embrace...

And then she woke up.


	2. Chapter 2

Something wasn't right, and it was a source of constant frustration to Weiss. She did everything that she assumed that she'd have to do at the academy: studying, assignments, multiple forms of huntress practice. On the outside, everything appeared to be normal, but inside she knew that wasn't the case. It all specifically _wasn't_ normal, and that was because of the team she was on. Particularly one certain team leader.

Honestly, she felt like a broken record rehashing the same confusion and irritation with Ruby. Or, rather, the thought that there was something about Ruby that she was supposed to know about. Even that name felt familiar on her tongue. When she found out that the girl she'd been forced to partner up with was named Ruby, the first thought that came to mind was _'Well,_ obviously _.'_ But that didn't make any sense! Why would that be obvious? For all she'd have known, her name could've been Red Riding Hood. But no: it was Ruby, and it made all the sense in the world. Somehow.

She was getting the feeling that Ruby wasn't a completely effective leader, though whether that was natural or because of Weiss herself, she didn't know. It was obvious that both of them were dealing with these deja vu feelings, but they both had apparently decided to take different tacts. While Ruby had attempted to get Weiss alone multiple times over the ensuing week, she had instead found every possible excuse to disappear from view and go somewhere where she could be alone. Team player, thy name was Schnee.

It wasn't her fault, though. She found it stupidly hard to concentrate whenever Ruby was by her. And it wasn't just because of some weird mental fixation with the girl. No, it was hard to concentrate when Ruby would find any excuse to stand near her. If she thought she was being inconspicuous, she was sorely mistaken. She was sure that the headmaster himself could see it from the top of the tower.

For the entirety of the week, she did her best to ignore Ruby, despite the obvious logistical issues with that. It wasn't something she could do forever, however, and at the end of the week, her chance to make another quick escape wasn't there. She had been brushing her teeth, getting ready for bed, when someone knocked on the door. It was obviously Ruby, but she decided to say nothing. Instead, she kept on getting ready for bed, in the hopes that Ruby would go back to waiting on the bed.

When she finished up and opened the door, she found that her hopes had been in vain. Ruby was standing right in front of the door, blocking her path. She stepped forward, but Weiss refused to budge, and they ended up just standing toe to toe in an awkward standoff. For someone who was supposedly a small little ball of cheer, she sure could act stubborn and childish. She didn't want to budge, but out of the corner of her eye she noticed Blake staring at them. It put an impetus on her to get whatever this was over with.

"We can talk about this in the morning," Weiss whispered, annoyance evident on her face. Ruby wasn't taking that lying down, though. "Blake is staring at us."

"I don't care, Weiss!" Ruby tried to keep her voice down, but she was having a hard time not letting all of her energy out. She was just as frustrated as Weiss was, and she was tired of letting things stay as they were. It just couldn't continue like that. "We both know there's something connecting us. I don't know what it is, but-"

"There is _nothing_ connecting us! It's just weird feelings, that's all. That wouldn't make any sense." Weiss was trying to inject as much logic as she could into something that even to her defied it. She wasn't willing to back down so easily, though. It wasn't in her nature to admit that there was something happening that she couldn't take control of.

"It's _not_ nothing, Weiss! It's fate! There's something connecting us! I've had dreams about you." She felt her cheeks warm up at the implications of what she was saying, but she wasn't done yet. "I don't know what it means, but... but it can't mean nothing! Don't you feel something?" She leaned in closer, which made Weiss lean back automatically.

"I..." Ruby... wasn't wrong. As much as she'd never admit the words out loud, she'd also been having dreams about Ruby. Something about bright lights and intense heat. It was all so jumbled that she refused to put any stock into it, though. Whatever this was, it was just distracting her. "I don't have time for this. _We_ don't have time for this. There's no fate or whatever you want to call it. Whatever you think it is, it isn't, alright?" She pushed on Ruby's shoulders, scowling when she didn't move. "Out of the way, Ruby. I need to go to sleep."

"But..." Ruby didn't want to move out of the way. She had finally gotten Weiss alone - sort of... not really - and now she was being asked to ignore what was going on. That just wasn't something she could do. Weiss was glaring at her, though, so insistent... She couldn't force her to stay there. It'd just make things worse. With a sigh, she moved out of the way, allowing Weiss to exit the bathroom and go right to bed without another word.

It was tough for her to fall asleep that night with all the stuff on her mind. She kept hoping that, when Yang and Blake were asleep, Weiss would want to actually discuss it. That never happened, though. Eventually, Ruby had to give up and finally let sleep take her into the night. That didn't keep her from thoughts of Weiss, though. Her dreams made sure of that.

* * *

She was supposed to be doing homework, but her mind just wasn't able to focus on the papers in front of her. Her pen tapped uselessly against her desk, and she closed her eyes rather than keep looking at it anymore. As soon as she closed her eyes, Weiss popped into her mind. For some reason, she just couldn't get the girl out of her head. She didn't understand how Weiss could pretend there wasn't something strange going on.

"You won't get much done with your eyes closed." Yang poked Ruby's arm, lightly teasing her as she leaned against the table. "And then how will you do my homework too?"

"Yaaang!" Ruby laughed, swatting at her hand. "You know you're doing better than me. At least at the papers and stuff."

"Hmm, good point. Maybe I should ask Weiss." At the mere mention of Weiss's name, Ruby let out a quiet sigh that didn't go unnoticed. "What was that?"

"Hmm?" Ruby gulped, realizing that Yang had heard her. "Nothing."

"No, that was not 'nothing'. I heard that sigh." Yang changed positions so that she could lean her weight on Ruby's shoulder. "What's the deal, Rubes? Weiss got you down or something?" Ruby tensed underneath Yang's arms, giving her away. "So it is Weiss. You know both Blake and I have noticed you staring at her like... all the time. You like her or something?"

"I, uh..." She didn't immediately say no, which surprised Yang. Not that she would've believed her anyway, but she was at least expecting the denial. "Maybe? It's really confusing!"

 _"Ohh."_ Unless she was mistaken, it seemed her little sister had her first teenage crush. She hadn't expected 'stubborn and prissy' to be Ruby's type, but who was she to judge? "Yeah, it can be really confusing the first time. But that doesn't mean your feelings aren't valid. You know I'll support you one hundred percent if you wanted to ask her out."

"Wait, what?!" Ruby looked up at Yang in shock, a bit of red gracing her cheeks. "I didn't say I was going to do that!" For once, she was thankful that Weiss wasn't in the room to hear this. "It's not like that at all! It's... Ugh, it's too confusing to explain!" She sighed and looked down at the table, shaking her head slightly. "You'll think I'm weird."

"Ruby..." Yang smiled fondly, grabbing Ruby's hand and lifting her up off of her chair. The two of them moved to Yang's bed, where they sat side by side. "I'm your sister. It's my job to think you're weird- Ow." She laughed as Ruby punched her gently in the arm. "For real, though, I'm always gonna support you. I don't like seeing you so spaced out and down all the time. You can tell me anything, okay?"

Ruby clasped her hands together in her lap, watching her legs swing back and forth. It _was_ getting frustrating holding all of this inside, especially when Weiss steadfastly refused to discuss it. She didn't know anyone else well enough to talk about it. No one except for Yang. She'd always been able to talk to her big sister about anything, so maybe it'd be okay for her to try and explain how she was feeling.

"Remember when I told you I bumped into someone on the first day?" Yang nodded. "That was Weiss. When our hands touched, I felt something... Not like that!" She pouted when she saw a knowing look on Yang's face. "It was like I knew her from somewhere. And then we met up in the forest, and we were put together on the same team. I keep having these dreams of her too, like we're together somewhere in the clouds or something. And it feels like I'm supposed to know who she is. There's something tying us together, I just know there is!"

"But Weiss won't talk to me about it. I've tried, but she said it wasn't fate. That it was just... I dunno, random. But it can't be random! The dreams may be jumbled, but they're so vivid! And her name feels right on my tongue whenever I say it, like I've been saying it for years. I don't understand what's going on, Yang." She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, having accidentally let her emotions overwhelm her. "I can't stop thinking of her and it's making it hard for me to do anything else."

"Are you sure this isn't a crush? Because it sure sounds like it."

"It's not the same thing! I'm positive I know her from somewhere, but I've never met her before. It doesn't make sense, but it feels like something is connecting us together. Like we were together in a previous life or something." Ruby sighed and flopped down onto the bed, staring at the bottom of the top bunk. Saying it all out loud, she could understand why Weiss wouldn't want to face this. Without a real explanation, it only served to work her brain ragged with no solution in sight.

"Do you think Weiss was nicer in a previous life?" It was just a joke, but in truth, it was more to allow Yang to stall for time. Taking in all that Ruby had said made her head spin. It would've all made more sense if it was just a crush: that she could work with. But all the deja vu, previous life stuff? That wasn't her element. She didn't want to say that out loud, though. She could tell that this had been bothering Ruby for their entire time at Beacon. Not doing anything helpful was out of the question. "Uh, well, what are your dreams like? The ones about her."

"They're always here, at Beacon. But outside, all the grounds are gone. It's like the entire academy's been lifted into the sky. Weiss and I, we can walk outside too. We don't fall down like I expected to. It feels so... natural. Like we'd been doing that for years. But every time I feel like I'm about to learn _why_ I feel that way about her, I wake up. No matter how long or short the dream is." It was like her dreams were trying to keep her from some truth. But what was it?

"Maybe you were... birds?" That had sounded pretty stupid in her mind. Out in the open, it sounded even worse. She groaned and slapped her forehead, but she didn't know what to say. She was at a loss to help put a finger on what Ruby was describing. It seemed like Weiss's idea to try and push those thoughts aside was the best course of action, but she could tell that Ruby didn't want to hear that. "How do you know that Weiss feels the same way?"

"I can just tell from the way she looks at me when I look at her. Like when our hands brushed on that first day. She froze, just like me. I just want her to admit it so we can do _something_! I don't know what, but it's better than pretending nothing's happening. What's happening to me, Yang?" Her expression was surprisingly tortured, and it tore at Yang's heart to know that her little sister was hurting and there wasn't anything she could do about it. Well... Maybe there was something she could do. It'd at least be a start.

"Why don't you go back to your homework, Ruby? You just gotta try to focus, though I know it's hard. Believe me." She chuckled, standing up in the hope that Ruby would follow. "If you ever want to talk about Weiss, you can tell me, and we'll try to keep figuring this out together, okay?" She smiled, and she was relieved to see Ruby smile back. She had been worried that Ruby might've wallowed in whatever she was feeling for the rest of the day.

"Okay... I'll try." She smiled, mostly because she'd seen the worry on Yang's face. Unleashing all of that onto her sister must've been a lot to take. But it had felt nice to get all of that out, even if she didn't feel any closer to understanding what was going on. Yang had said they'd figure it out together, and she believed her. At least, she wanted to believe her, and that was good enough for her brain.

So Ruby went back to her homework, and Yang stayed with her until Blake came back. At that point, she decided to go take a walk. Of course, the walk was merely a cover. She hadn't wanted to leave Ruby alone, but Blake's return meant there'd be someone else in the room. Hopefully her presence would be enough, because there was something Yang needed to do, and she didn't want Ruby to know what it was yet.

Weiss had said she'd be in the training dojo earlier that day, so Yang figured she was still there. If she could get Weiss alone, then she could talk to her about whatever this 'thing' was between her and Ruby. She still felt like it was something crush related, but Ruby had repeatedly denied that, and she didn't seem like she was lying. Whatever it was, she was gonna find out, one way or another.

Just as she'd said, Weiss was in the dojo. Her sword was out, extended away from her body. The way she moved, deftly darting forward and stabbing at an invisible enemy, was impressive. Yang found herself standing near the entrance for a couple minutes, just watching Weiss train as if no one was watching. Of course, that wasn't the case, and eventually Weiss seemed to realize there were eyes on her. She turned towards the entrance, finding Yang standing there. Frowning, she stopped what she was doing and put a hand on her hip. Yang knew it was now or never.

"How's the training going?" She walked up towards Weiss, smiling as Weiss sighed and sheathed her weapon.

"Fine, I guess." She was obviously sizing Yang up, as if trying to figure out why she was there. Yang found herself grinning when she noticed Weiss surreptitiously standing up on her tip-toes. There wasn't much she could do about the height difference, though. Not unless she brought disco back and invested in some 70s platforms. "What are you grinning about?"

"Uh, nothing. So, how about we sit down and talk?" She gestured towards a bench, but Weiss just stared at her skeptically.

"About what? I'm in the middle of training here."

"You've been down here for hours, though. It's to avoid Ruby, isn't it?" She'd said that without thinking, but it got a reaction out of Weiss. A flicker of worry passed through her eyes, and she took a step back from Yang. Did she think she was gonna hurt her for that or something? "Hey, hey, chill out. I'm not gonna hit ya. Don't give me that look. I'm not! I just wanna talk, I swear."

"This isn't going to be good, is it?" Weiss couldn't really see herself escaping from this conversation, though. Not without a significant hit to her dignity. Besides, she was pretty confident that she knew what Yang wanted to talk about. Cursing her own luck, she followed Yang to the bench and sat down next to her. "Did Ruby put you up to this?"

"No. She doesn't know that I'm here." She found it humorous that she was the one here about to initiate this conversation. This had never really been her strong suit. She was more of a 'do it yourself' kind of girl. This was for Ruby, though, and she'd do anything for her. "Are you avoiding her because of you two being entwined by fate?"

"She told you that?" Weiss groaned and hid her face in her hands. She recovered quickly, however, straightening up and looking right into Yang's eyes. "Whatever she's told you, that's just how she interprets things. I don't believe in such nonsense." Yang's eyes narrowed. "I mean, I don't believe in such... beliefs."

"Well she does, and she seems to think that you do too, and that you just won't admit it." She didn't want to accuse Weiss of lying, especially without truly knowing how she felt. But she knew that ignoring Ruby wasn't the answer. "Look, I don't know if you're not admitting it or you really don't know what's going on. That kind of thing is way out of my element. But can't you at least talk with her? I'm not saying you have to believe you knew each other in a past life or something, but she's upset that you won't even talk with her."

Weiss frowned, feeling a spark of guilt at causing Ruby to be upset. She absolutely did not want to talk about these weird feelings, but hearing that doing everything she could to avoid it was making Ruby sad... It made her feel awful. She was honestly surprised at how raw it felt, to feel this bad about how she was making someone else feel. She'd never felt like that before, and it was uncomfortable.

"I'll talk to her, alright? Will that get you off my back?" Yang nodded. "Alright, good. I don't need to be guilt-tripped while I'm trying to train." Truthfully, it wasn't so much the guilt-tripping as her own feelings of guilt. It would be okay, though. She would sit down and talk with Ruby: whatever she wanted to do. Then they could put all of this behind them and be a normal, well-functioning team.

"Great! I'll leave you to your training, then." She patted Weiss on the shoulder before standing up and leaving the room. Now Weiss was indeed left to her training... and her thoughts of Ruby. This really was a hell of a mess.

* * *

She just wanted to get it over with. That's what she told herself, but she found herself feeling nervous as she approached Ruby. It felt like the topic they were going to discuss shouldn't be said out loud, or she'd lose her right to pretend it wasn't happening. She looked over her shoulder at Yang, hoping that she'd get some sort of sign that she could avoid doing this. Instead she got a thumbs up. _'Darnit...'_

"Ruby, can we... Can we talk?" That immediately perked Ruby up. She sat up in bed and gawked at Weiss, then smiled hopefully. Without realizing it, Weiss was smiling too. The smile disappeared as soon as she noticed it, though. Why was she smiling? This wasn't a conversation she even wanted to have. "Can we go to the balcony? It's quieter there."

"Yeah, sure." Ruby kept smiling as she got out of bed, waiting for Weiss to move. Keeping her in her line of sight, huh? ... Not a bad idea. Weiss sighed and walked out of the room with Ruby right behind her. True to her word, the two of them ended up on a balcony that Weiss had spotted early on at the academy. Nobody was there, which gave them an area of privacy. They could've kicked Yang out and used the bedroom, but she needed the fresh air to clear her mind.

"I'm... sorry for ignoring you for the past week. Whatever you want to talk about, we can discuss it." Her hands curled into fists by her sides. She felt way too nervous about this. It was like she was expecting Ruby to tell her to go away. That didn't make any sense, though. Where would she go anyway? They both lived in the same dorm room.

"Really? Everything?" There was a cautious hope in her eyes. She wanted to believe, but there was still hesitance: a worry that Weiss would just brush her off again. Weiss nodded, trying her best to look honest. She was sure it didn't look natural, but that didn't seem to matter to Ruby. "Be honest with me, Weiss. Have you dreamt about me?"

"Uh..." Weiss blushed, crossing her arms. "Not like that! But... Yeah, I have. A few times."

"What were they about? Where were we?" Ruby was practically bouncing up and down with excitement. It was like she already knew what Weiss was going to say.

"In every dream, I was out on the campus grounds, but it was always so warm. Everything was dark and it felt like they were flames all around me. It felt so real, too..." She shook her head slightly, having promised herself not to get lost in how real her dreams had felt. They were just dreams, after all. "Then I'd lift up without support, all the way to our dorm room. I'd always be floating outside our window, and then you would come out and join me-" Her explanation was cut off by a squeal from Ruby.

"My dreams are the same way! I mean, I'm not down on the campus or anything, but I'm in the dorm, and then you knock on the window, and I go outside with you. It's like we're in the sky, but we're not falling. I knew there was something connecting us!" It took her a moment to calm down, realizing that she was going to accidentally close Weiss off again if she carried on like that. "I mean, we're having the same dreams. I have them almost every night. Don't you think that means something?"

"They're just dreams, Ruby." Weiss had to remain realistic. If she let herself get swept up in Ruby's beliefs, she'd just be taken on a path to nowhere. "I once had a dream where I was being chased by a three-headed dog, but that doesn't mean I'm at risk of canine disobedience. You can't put too much stock into things like that."

"Okay, but..." Ruby hated to admit it, but Weiss was sort of right. Dreams weren't reality, but it had to be more than just a coincidence that both of them had been frequently dreaming of each other. "But it's not just the dreams! Remember when our hands brushed against each other? There was something there. I felt it, and I know you felt it too. When I say your name, it feels right, like-"

"-we've known each other forever..." Weiss's eyes widened, staring at Ruby. "But... No, that doesn't make any sense. We haven't even known each other for a month." While that was true, she wasn't able to deny that what Ruby said was true. Admitting it would mean admitting that she was at least a little bit mad, though, and she wasn't ready to do that.

"It doesn't make sense, but it's all true. There's something connecting us together, Weiss. And I know you don't want to believe in fate, or whatever this is, but I know that it's real! And I can't figure out what's going on without your help. Please?" She looked so sincere, so _needy_. It made Weiss feel those guilty feelings she'd felt when talking to Yang. Was she really going to entertain these delusions?

"Even if I agreed to do this, what would we even do? Do you want us to go to a psychic or some other charlatan?"

"No, I, uh..." Ruby laughed nervously, rubbing her arm as she shyly looked at the balcony railing. "I'd like to hug you." Weiss was positive she had heard that incorrectly.

"... Pardon?"

"When our hands touched, we both felt something, right? Well, that was just quick contact. A hug would be full body contact, and we might feel something more." Weiss had the most disbelieving expression that Ruby had ever seen in her life. Though she couldn't really blame her, now that she heard what she said out loud. "I'm not trying to do anything weird, I swear."

"I'm not convinced." Weiss sighed, dropping her arms and relaxing her stance. "Alright, if you think that'll help, then you can... hug me, I guess. But don't you dare tell anyone." Ruby rolled her eyes, but she could agree to that. She walked over to Weiss, feeling somewhat awkward as she did so. Hugging was a friendly action that she was used to doing, but having Weiss tense up as she stepped forward made it so awkward. It made her feel like she was performing in front of a large crowd rather than giving her teammate a friendly embrace.

She did end up giving Weiss that hug, though. As soon as her arms went around the older girl, she felt something. At first, she wasn't sure what it was. It was more like a tingling in the back of her mind, a touch memory that was locked away. She was hoping that hugging Weiss long enough would make it blossom in her brain, but it just kept frustratingly out of reach. Even when the length of the embrace went from 'good friends' to 'uncomfortable uncle'.

"I don't mean to interrupt..." Ruby groaned as she let go of Weiss, stepping backwards and stomping her foot on the ground. "Don't act like a child, Ruby. Just because nothing happened-"

"Something _did_ happen! I can feel a memory, but it's just not opening up!" Something was wrong, but what was it? That was full body contact! How could it give her _less_ of a feeling than a simple hand touch? There had to be something she'd done wrong. She wracked her brain for the solution, tapping her foot as the niggling memory was bothering her to no end. "Oh, I know! You gotta hug me too!"

"Ruby-"

"Because when our hands touched, they both touched! But now it's just me hugging you. It can't be just me. We both gotta do it! I know this'll work, Weiss. I know it!" She held out her arms, pleading with her eyes. "Please, Weiss! I know this is gonna work! And if doesn't, then... then you can throw me off the balcony!"

"Don't tempt me." She couldn't believe that she was agreeing to this. Maybe there _was_ something connecting her and Ruby together. Her even _entertaining_ the thought of hugging another human being - at least outside of her family - was stranger than any of the dreams she'd had. Well, as long as no one was watching... She looked back through the window just to make sure the hallway was empty, then she stepped forward. Lifting her arms, the two of them embraced each other.

The feeling that went through both of their bodies was intense. Weiss could feel Ruby tensing in her arms, but only barely. That was because she was tensing just as much. In what couldn't have been more than ten seconds, she felt the most intense warmth she'd ever felt. It was like being bathed in fire, but there was no pain. For those handful of seconds, everything felt warm and bright and _perfect_.

Then it was gone, and something was tugging harshly on her body, trying to pull her away from Ruby. There was nothing - or no one - there, though. It was just her yanking herself away from their embrace, eyes wide and heart racing. "What was that?!" She cried out, unable to take her eyes off of Ruby. There wasn't a response at first, though. Ruby seemed shocked into silence. _"What was that?!"_

"I-I don't know! But there was something!" The shock faded, being replaced with an unrestrained joy. "I felt this incredible warmth, and... and it felt right! Like we were always meant to be in that embrace! But then something pulled me away. It was smooth, but so rough..." Weiss found herself near-frozen where she stood. Everything that Ruby had just described... That was exactly what she had felt too. "You felt it too, didn't you?"

"I... Yeah..." Considering her reaction, saying otherwise would be an obvious lie. "But we don't know what that was. It was just... emotions, I think. That doesn't tell us anything."

"But it tells us it's not something that happens to normal people." Weiss felt affronted that Ruby was saying she was not normal. "When I hug Yang, I don't feel that intense rush of emotions. Sure, I feel that familial bond, but this was different. More than any emotion should!" It was hard to deny the sense in what Ruby was saying. Even her most negative emotions had never felt that strong. It was too intense. Inhuman, almost.

"Yes, you're right. It didn't feel normal, but we don't know what that means. And how would we figure it out anyway? We can't hug forever." A certain glint shone in Ruby's eyes. "That is _not_ a challenge, Ruby."

"Look, I could win a hugging marathon if need be, but that's not what I'm getting at. We've gotten these different feelings from being in contact with each other. If we just keep doing that, we might learn more about this. I'm not saying we have to do this every second of every day, but we can just get together sometimes and touch each other in different ways." Weiss's cheeks turned red as Ruby realized what she'd said. "I... didn't mean for it to come out that way."

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that." At least she knew what Ruby had been trying to get at. "I'll... agree to this, but let's start tomorrow. I need a break from... whatever this is." Ruby nodded, finding that agreeable. Honestly, she also could use a bit of time to gather her thoughts. Whatever those feelings were, they still tingled on her skin. Each light, electric sensation felt like a story being told across her body, but the words were in a language she didn't understand. They were going to figure it out, though. She was sure of it.

The two of them walked back to the dorm, side by side. While Weiss's emotions were more guarded, Ruby's excitement was written all over her face. They hadn't solved anything yet, but they were much closer than they'd been at any point before. Even having Weiss admit that they were both feeling the same thing was a cause for celebration, at least to her. No matter what, she was going to figure out what this connection between them was.


	3. Chapter 3

"There is no way this is going to work." Weiss crossed her arms and looked up at Ruby, who was standing on a first floor windowsill. Thank goodness it was only on the first floor, considering what she was planning to do. "Don't be stupid, Ruby. Get down from there."

"It'll be fine, Weiss!" Ruby had specifically chosen the first floor window just in case it didn't work. She'd been thinking about her dreams ever since yesterday, and she thought of a test she could do. In their dreams, they were always standing in the sky. Maybe that meant they could fly! So in her mind, what better way to test that theory out than to jump into the air and try to stay aloft? It was a good idea, she was pretty sure.

Giving Weiss a thumbs up, she jumped from the windowsill, spreading her arms wide. She didn't even get a second to feel free of Gaia's constraints before she arced right back down. Bellyflopping right onto the ground, she groaned as she lifted her head up. "Okay... Maybe not..." She looked over at Weiss, who had covered her mouth with her hand. It was obvious she was hiding her laughter, though. "Weissss..."

"Hey, you're the one who jumped from the window." At least _she_ had a modicum of sense. Unfortunately, Ruby had enough craziness for the both of them. She hopped right back onto her feet and went over to Weiss, smiling too wide for whatever she was thinking to be good. "What? Did that hit knock more sense out of you?"

"We both need to jump!" Weiss just stared at her. She realized that she'd been doing that a lot, lately. Ruby just happened to engender utter disbelief. "I didn't feel anything because you weren't with me. If we jump together, we're sure to feel something!"

"If you think I'm going to jump out of a window, you've got another thing coming." She stood defiant despite Ruby's pleading eyes. "Don't give me that look. You got to do your silly idea. Now- Hey!" Weiss yelped as Ruby grabbed her hand and dragged her towards the window. Her attempts at escape were dulled by the thoughts that played in her mind as soon as their hands touched. The idea was absolutely idiotic, as she'd said, but the warmth on her skin made her guard start to slip. She felt strangely trusting of Ruby, despite her prior words.

So they both ended up on the windowsill, holding hands as Weiss stared down at the ground. It wasn't high up at all, but that only stopped her from having any fear of falling. Instead, she felt really stupid. She wanted to wrench her hand away and step down daintily, but Ruby's eyes were alight with warmth and excitement. Something about that just wouldn't let her walk away.

"Alright, we'll jump on three. One..." Weiss couldn't believe she was letting this happen. But those eyes... So silver and well-intentioned. "Two..." It was like looking into a wild mercury sea: one that she would dive into without a second thought. Wait, that second thought was kicking in. What was she- "Three!" She barely reacted in time to avoid getting straight dragged off the sill. Her movements were still awkward as she and Ruby jumped into the air together.

At the peak of their ascent, Weiss felt something. She could've sworn that time had slowed down, allowing her to look over at Ruby and see... something. There was something in her face that was different. The way the sun shone down on them, it seemed like there was a beam of light surrounding her face. It was both captivating and strangely frightening. It was almost... angelic. And then the feeling was gone, and they both slammed into the ground face-first. Just like she had expected.

"I told you." Weiss mumbled, her voice muffled by the grass. Ruby didn't respond, but Weiss hoped she understood the gravity of the situation now. Sighing, she just allowed herself to lay there for a moment, wondering how much blame she needed to put on herself for allowing this to happen. Even if it had sort of worked in a way, since she _had_ felt something, she wasn't sure if the embarrassment was worth it. Then she heard a deep, good-natured chuckle above her.

"Well well, what do we have here?" Yang grinned as she surveyed two of her team members lying face down in the grass. She knew how they had gotten there, however. She had seen everything. "Did your arms get tired from flying all the way over here?" Weiss groaned, now never wanting to lift her head up again. _'Too bad that didn't kill me.'_

"We're trying to figure out what's connecting us, Yang." Ruby jumped back onto her feet, not seeming nearly as embarrassed as Weiss was. "But we figured something out! If we have contact, then we feel something! I'm... I'm not sure what it is, honestly, but it's these... these feelings. We both feel them together, so I know I was right! But we haven't figured out what it is."

"That so, huh?" Yang quirked an eyebrow, trying not to look _too_ disbelieving. She still felt that these 'feelings' were romantic in nature, even after all that Ruby told her. It was just what she knew. The signs were there. Those two shortstacks had feelings for each other, even if they were trying to give it some other spiritual meaning. "So what are these emotions, exactly?"

"It's like... warmth. Uhh, like we've known each other for so long! Longer than we actually have. And..." Ruby sighed, the spark seeming to leave her body. "I don't know what these feelings mean, but I'm not gonna stop until we find out what it is." Now _that_ was the Ruby she knew. Always so determined, no matter what.

"Well, good luck with that." She smiled at both of them, though in the back of her mind she was more sure than ever that the two of them had feelings for each other. Feelings that didn't involve fate, prior lives, or whatnot. They _were_ going a bit fast, considering that they'd had mere weeks to get to know each other, but in a way, she wasn't surprised. She could believe that Ruby would fall fast for someone. Weiss, though...

"Thanks!" Ruby beamed as she helped Weiss onto her feet, holding onto her hand as they walked towards the inside of the main building. "Alright, so I definitely felt something then! It must've not lasted because we were so close to the ground. We just need to fall farther-"

"Are you crazy?!" Weiss's shrill voice could be heard even as the doors closed. Yang watched them walk down the hall through the windows, shaking her head slightly. This was sure going to be one hell of a school year.

* * *

Yang went back to Team RWBY's dorm, sighing as she closed the door behind her. She had promised herself she'd do what she could to help her little sister, but sometimes it felt like Ruby was on a completely different plane of existence. She'd figure something out, though. Meanwhile, she'd caught the attention of Blake, who had been reading on the top bunk.

"Something the matter, Yang?" She put her bookmark into her book and closed it, sitting up and setting the book to the side. Yang shrugged and sat down on her bed, staring at the other pair of bunk beds. The bunk beds were Ruby's idea, but she wasn't there. Her and Weiss were probably still out trying... Well, she wasn't really sure how to describe it. Jumping off of windowsills was what it looked like. Maybe she should've tried to stop them. "Yang?"

"Oh, sorry. Was just thinking about Ruby." She heard movement above her, turning her head up to watch Blake descend down to the floor as graceful as a cat. She then sat down next to Yang, her expression calm but curious. "This is a secret, though, alright? I don't want either of them knowing that I told you this."

"Nothing says 'team' like secrets," Blake quipped dryly, smirking slightly when she saw Yang pouting at her. "I won't tell them, though I'm now concerned about what you're going to say. Should I be waiting for the police?"

"Nah, it's nothing serious like that." Yang laughed, leaning back against the bedspread on her palms. "Honestly, it's pretty hard to explain. To put it simply, I'm pretty sure that Ruby likes Weiss. In a different way than she may like us, if you get what I mean."

"Yes, I've been to middle school." Blake quirked an eyebrow, but she'd had those same thoughts herself. She'd seen Ruby hanging around Weiss a handful of times, even though Weiss never seemed inclined to notice her presence. "Isn't it a bit soon for 'forbidden romance'? We've only just started to get to know each other as a team, and Weiss is about as cuddly as a cactus. Ruby seems a bit too... energetic for a Schnee." She was like a dog, actually, though Blake shuddered at the very thought.

"Maybe, but sometimes the heart wants what it wants. Haven't you ever fallen really hard for someone before?" Blake's 'bow' twitched, her thoughts drifting to the recent past. To what she had been doing before coming to Beacon.

"Uh, no. Never. Can't say that I have." She pushed those thoughts aside quickly, placing her hands on her knees and looking back at Yang. "So, what do you think? If they... feel something for each other, what do you think? Is Weiss good enough for your little sister?" She knew her own answer to that question, but she had to remind herself that it wasn't her question to answer.

"I told myself when Ruby turned thirteen that I wouldn't interfere with whoever she wanted to date unless there was something obviously skeevy about them. And Weiss is not skeevy. Stubborn, but Ruby is too, in her own way." She laughed and let her palms slide backwards until the back of her head hit the covers. Staring up at the bottom of the top bunk, she knew that wasn't everything. "That's the easy part to explain. I'm not sure how the hell I can explain what Ruby _thinks_ is going on."

"Well, why don't you try to explain it as best you can? I will do my best to piece it all together." Though she had a usually cheery exterior, Blake could tell that this must've been on Yang's mind for awhile. The least she could do was listen to what was going on and maybe even come up with a solution herself.

"I doubt you'll understand it any more than I do." Yang shrugged as best she could in her prone position, then tapped her fingers on the bed in an attempt to best explain what she was going to say. "I think... Ruby believes that she and Weiss are connected somehow. She says that she feels these emotional connections whenever they touch each other, and she's mentioned that she's dreamt of Weiss too. But the craziest thing is that Weiss admitted the same things to me, without any prodding from Ruby. I don't know if Ruby thinks they've met each other before, or they knew each other in a previous life... I dunno, Blake."

She expected Blake to express immediate disbelief, but to her surprise she found her lost in thought. "Hmm... There was... someone I knew, when I was younger. They believed in reincarnation. One soul moving into a new body after the old one dies. I've never really believed in that, but that does sound like what Ruby's talking about. Has she ever been a spiritual person?"

"Not really? I mean, I've seen her pray before, but we never were a real religious family. I dunno about the whole reincarnation thing..." She slowly rubbed her forehead with two fingers. There was no way she'd be able to wrap her head around her sister being some other person that was inhabiting her body. "Maybe it is, though. I dunno. I can't really... prove it, or anything. I'm just worried that it's distracting Ruby. She was really down before I got Weiss to finally talk to her about it."

"Well, it's not bad for the team to get closer. It will certainly help with team unity." She could imagine that, if they got together, a hoard of Grimm might swarm them and Weiss would leave them to die to protect Ruby. What a way to go. "I think. So what are you going to do? Are you going to try to get them together, or leave them alone and let them sort it out themselves?"

"I won't interfere... Maybe. I don't know! Ruby told me they weren't romantic feelings, and that it was just because of this connection they have. It's so obvious, though! You don't constantly hang around someone like that unless you want to date them. Or do something else with them." Blake coughed into her hand. "I just don't know what to do, Blake. I feel like I should understand what's going on, but I don't."

"Well, it does sound odd." Blake patted Yang's knee sympathetically. Neither of them were in their element with this one, but at least they were together in not knowing what was going on. "As long as you're sure Ruby's still... uh, mentally sound, then it should be okay. You shouldn't worry about it. Just let whatever this is run its course."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Yang sat back up, giving Blake a quick half-hug. "Thanks Blake. It means a lot that I can talk to you about this."

"No problem, Yang." Blake turned her head slightly, hoping Yang didn't notice her slight blush. After talking about potential problems within the team, the last thing she wanted was to start up another one.

* * *

"Yang and Blake always seem to have somewhere to go these days." Weiss mused out loud as she sat on her bed, looking at the message Yang had sent to them on their scroll. Just like yesterday, it was decidedly vague and just mentioned that she and Blake had somewhere to be. In fact, this was the third straight day where something like this had occurred. It had crossed the line of coincidence and was now very suspicious. "I won't forgive either of them if they're training without us."

"Yeah..." Ruby sighed, sitting on her own bed above Weiss. She had her own suspicions, and it had nothing to do with training. Yang had initially mentioned that she believed the connection she and Weiss felt was romantic in nature. Even though Ruby had tried to explain otherwise, she had a feeling that Yang still thought that the two of them were mutually crushing on each other. That would explain why Yang and Blake kept disappearing and coincidentally leaving them alone.

She didn't mind, of course. It was exactly what she wanted, but it didn't make achieving things any easier. The two of them acted better around each other now, but she still hadn't completely thawed the ice that seemed to always surround Weiss. At least getting her to try new things that might spur old memories to come forth was only sort of difficult now rather than nearly impossible.

"Well, since they're busy, why don't we go do something together?" She turned around and let her body fall from the bed, keeping herself from slamming into the ground by holding onto the bed with her legs. Hanging off the bed like a bat, she squirmed around until she could smile at Weiss. "I'm sure there's somewhere at Beacon we haven't explored yet."

"Hmm... Well, I suppose we have nothing else to do." Weiss put her scroll away and stood up, ducking away from Ruby's hanging shenanigans. "Besides, we haven't gotten much farther in determining anything relating to our... connection of sorts. So if you're finished messing around, then we can go." Ruby gave Weiss an upside down salute, then tried to lift herself back onto the bed. She got partway up, but then her legs slipped off and she went crashing down to the ground.

"Ow... I'm okay!" She gave Weiss a thumbs up, who just rolled her eyes at the silly display. Tapping her foot impatiently, she waited until Ruby got back on her feet, and then the two of them left the dorm for the great outdoors. They walked the campus together, with Ruby making small talk and Weiss giving short responses. Occasionally Ruby would deliberately swing her hand wide so that it would touch Weiss's, but the tingling sensations were minor, and Weiss wouldn't even hold her hand just for kicks. Not in public, at least.

Weiss had been right: they hadn't done much to gain more understanding about what was going on between them, but whose fault was that? She could be so obstinate sometimes. That didn't mean Ruby cared about her less, but it meant she had to work harder to get things going. She would do it, though. It meant a lot to her to figure things out, and come hell or high water, she would do it.

Their trek ended up leading them to the cliffside separating Beacon from the ocean. It was a dangerous place to be, but it was indeed a place they hadn't explored before. Ruby sat down on the edge, leaning back with a carefree smile. Frowning, Weiss sat down next to her, being much more cautious with her placement. One wrong move would mean sayanora for either of them.

"Is this really a safe place to do this?" Weiss looked over the expansive, watery depths below, feeling a hint of unease before she turned back to Ruby. "There isn't another random place where we can... hold hands, or whatever?" She felt this irrational fear that they were going to plunge into the water below, as if a sudden breeze was going to kick up and push them off. It was a fear that wasn't rooted as much in her own safety, though. She was feeling it more for Ruby.

"Probably, but it's a nice view, isn't it?" She moved her hand onto the small patch of grass between their bodies, hoping that Weiss would put her hand there as well on her own volition. Weiss's worries weren't unfounded, but she actually felt pretty safe. There was just this unstated fact inside her brain, so sure that if she started to fall, Weiss would swoop in and save her. "Have you really stopped and just... you know, taken in where we are since we first got here?"

"I... suppose I haven't." Taking another look, she could see more than just the ever-present threat of death. From how far up they were, she could barely see the water rippling as it swayed to and fro. The trees on the other side were all clustered together, looking more alive with the sun shining down on them. It all looked very picturesque, like a scenic photograph her mother might have hung on the hallway wall. "I never noticed any of this before."

"It's like a pretty panning shot from a movie, isn't it?" Ruby's hand twitched when something landed on top of it. Looking down, she smiled when she saw what it was. It seemed that the ice queen had deemed her hand worthy of a touch. She felt considerably warmer as a tingling sensation rippled across her skin, darting up her arm. Pushing her luck a bit, she moved her hand into a position where it could hold Weiss's. She slipped her fingers in between Weiss's and clamped down gently, waiting to see if she would be spurned.

To her delight, Weiss didn't pull away. She wouldn't look at Ruby, but she slightly tightened their grip, making it clear that they were holding hands. Taking a look at Weiss's face, she could see a bit of red in her cheeks. She grinned slightly, automatically wanting to tease Weiss about being embarrassed. This was a moment she didn't want to ruin, though, so she stayed quiet and sat there in a surprisingly comfortable silence.

There weren't a lot of memories coming forth in her mind like she'd been hoping. Instead, she felt emotions filtering from their extended hand-holding. She'd become used to the sometimes-intense warmth that came from being near Weiss, but more than any other time before she could now feel how comforting it was. It was less like being hung over a furnace and more like being wrapped in a favorite childhood blanket.

She turned to look at Weiss again, and found her already staring at her. Their eyes met, and Ruby could see that Weiss was feeling the same emotional connection. She wondered what specific emotions, what feelings Weiss was experiencing, but she didn't want to speak and risk ending what they had right then. The feelings of warmth, of just knowing without a doubt that Weiss was the most important person in the world to her: that was something she didn't want to end.

"You're beautiful." Both of their eyes widened, neither of them believing that those words had just come out of Weiss's mouth. For a moment, Ruby was sure that she had been the one to say it. But no, it was Weiss, without a doubt. That had been her voice, after all. Her cheeks became inflamed in a moment, in just as much disbelief as Ruby was that she had said that. She didn't pull her hand away, however, which was nearly as surprising.

"Oh, uh... Thank... Thank you..." Ruby found herself blushing as well, averting her eyes. Weiss likely said that as a consequence of the familiar emotions that had filtered into their minds through their physical contact, but she wasn't complaining. It felt nice to hear her say that, but it also felt incomplete. Like she needed to say something back. "You're beautiful too."

"You... You don't have to say it back." Weiss blushed even harder, lightly shoving Ruby's shoulder with her free hand. She then immediately pulled that hand back, worried she might accidentally send Ruby toppling over the edge. "I... I don't know why I said that."

"So you didn't mean it?" Ruby stared at Weiss wide-eyed, her bottom lip trembling.

"What? No! No, I... I did mean it! Of course I meant it, you dolt! You're obviously beautiful, and-" She stopped when she saw Ruby's lips curl upwards, and then she started to giggle. "Unbelievable." She frowned as she slapped Ruby's shoulder, pulling both of her hands away this time. "You're the worst, you know that?"

"Aww, you don't mean that." Ruby continued to giggle, putting a hand over her mouth to muffle them. She felt a twinge of regret from doing that, since it broke the physical contact they'd had. However, she couldn't feel too bad, since she could see Weiss was doing her best to seem stern and not smile. She could tell that Weiss was enjoying their time together, just like she was. It was something that she could feel, even without any contact between them. Truth be told, she felt the most qualified to read Weiss and see how she was truly feeling.

"Maybe I do." Weiss smirked when Ruby stuck out her tongue, crossing her arms as she glanced back towards the ocean. "We should go somewhere else before we end up falling. I'm sure there's somewhere else we can spend time together." So that Ruby couldn't argue otherwise, she stood up and looked down at Ruby, waiting for the younger girl to follow suit.

"Alriiight." Ruby giggled as she stood up, holding out her hand and looking right into Weiss's eyes. Weiss quirked an eyebrow, then looked down at Ruby's hand. With a sigh, she stuck her own hand out and grabbed Ruby's, squeezing it and beginning to walk away from the cliffside. "Yay!" Ruby smiled brightly as she walked in step with Weiss, their arms swinging in between them.


	4. Chapter 4

It hadn't been her fault, realistically. She had no idea that bringing something so simple into the dorm would cause any problems. It'd been a completely random find. She'd been walking back to the dorm in the evening, heading over to the recycling bin to throw away her empty drink. To her surprise, she found a small angel statue behind the bin. Picking it up, she looked over it curiously. It seemed to be in pretty good shape, which meant it probably hadn't been left there long.

She looked around the area, assuming someone would be around that likely dropped it. There was no one else there, though. She decided that she might as well take it to the lost and found, but when she got there, no one was there. Putting her hands on the counter, she lifted herself into the air and peered as far back as she could, but she couldn't see any hint of another person back there.

So that's why she took it back to the dorm. She figured she could take it to the lost and found tomorrow, which was better than leaving it where it was and hoping whoever had dropped it came back to find it. They'd surely check lost and found anyway, and that's where it would be. Besides, she kind of liked having it on the nightstand next to her's and Weiss's bed. It looked nice.

Weiss, on the other hand, didn't think it looked nice. She actually recoiled the moment Ruby showed it to her, which seemed like an overreaction. Weiss seemed to realize that too, as she muttered about how ugly it looked. Embarrassment was obvious on her face, and she tried to play it off with her stubbornness. Still, Ruby didn't understand why Weiss was so against the statue. She didn't see anything wrong with it.

Weiss wasn't really sure why either. She just knew that the statue made her feel uncomfortable. It was ugly, or at least she thought so. Apparently she was the only one who did, but looking at its weird, lopsided face made her shudder involuntarily. Whoever painted that thing shouldn't drop their day job, that was all she was saying. The nightmare was worse than that, though.

It started like most of her dreams did nowadays: with her standing outside their dorm window, floating impossibly among the clouds. This time, however, Ruby didn't come out from the window. Confused and a touch irritated at the delay, Weiss looked through the window. It was tinted, though, obscuring her vision. She knocked on it, but no noises came from inside.

Just as she was considering whether to go back home - where? - or try to bust in and find Ruby herself, a pair of hands grabbed her from behind. Letting out a yelp of shock, she looked over her shoulder as she tried to pull herself away from her unknown assailant. Whoever had grabbed her was almost invisible to her, however, due to a blinding white light. It shined over their whole body, leaving her only able to see the hands on her arms and what seemed to be multiple pairs of white wings.

Feeling a second set of hands on her arms was when the panic started to set in. She kicked out with her legs, but whatever she was hitting refused to budge. Their grip was so tight that no matter how hard she struggled, they didn't give a single inch. She could see that she was being dragged away from the window, away from Ruby. Crying out, she tried to reach for the window, but she kept being pulled further and further back...

"Ruby!" Weiss shot up in bed, the covers falling from her torso as she was immediately bathed in the dark of their room. Her heart was hammering in her chest, and she found it difficult to control her breathing. She looked over to her left, wanting to get up and see if Ruby was still there, when her eyes fell on the little angel statue. In the dark, she could only see its silhouette, but she couldn't take her eyes off its wings. They seemed to flap up and down, multiplying under her gaze. She knew that it was staring at her, watching her...

"Stupid worthless object!" She snarled as she grabbed the statue, angrily hurling it across the room. The sound of it hitting the wall woke up both Ruby and Blake, who simultaneously sat up in confusion. Yang, however, kept sleeping right on through it. Neither Ruby or Blake knew what was going on initially, but as their eyes adjusted to the gloom, they could see the outline of Weiss sitting up in bed.

"Weiss?" Blake silently got down onto the ground and turned on her and Yang's nightstand lamp. She was immediately struck by how freaked out Weiss looked. It wasn't a look that really fit her. "Weiss, what happened? Are you okay?" Her usual annoyance at the heiress was temporarily put aside due to her concern for her teammate.

Ruby was down on the ground in an instant, less elegantly than Blake's descent. She put her hands on Weiss's shoulders and gently shook them. "Weiss, what happened?" She just repeated what Blake had asked, but that seemed to be what snapped her out of it. Looking at Ruby, she was initially relieved. She'd been worried that her nightmare had been real, and Ruby had vanished somewhere. Seeing her standing there at least let her know that wasn't true.

With the return of her calm came an increase in her embarrassment. They had obviously been woken by her momentary mania. How was she supposed to explain why she woke up and threw the ugly little statue that Ruby had brought back? It was something that she could at least explain to Ruby without seeming like a crazy person, but Blake was awake too. There was no way she'd understand what all that was about.

"I... had a bad dream, that's all." She wished that she could leave it at that, but she knew that both of them had heard the statue hitting the wall. Having a bad dream didn't explain that. "And I woke up... disoriented, I suppose. In that disorientation, I mistakenly threw the angel statue." Hearing that, Ruby turned to look to the other side of the room. With the lamp light on, she was able to see the statue on the floor. At least, what was left of it.

That was a bit dramatic. The statue was still there. However, the wings had both cracked off, lying on each side of the statue. There was a noticeable scratch mark down its back as well. Ruby picked up the statue and the broken wings, carrying it back to the nightstand and putting the three pieces on it. Weiss took a look at it and shuddered, looking away just as fast.

"I'm sorry I broke it, Ruby." She whispered it, only wanting Ruby to hear her apology. She wasn't sorry for breaking it because of the statue itself, but because it had been Ruby's. Temporarily, but still. She'd broken something that Ruby seemed to like, and it made her feel bad. It made her feel like a child again, being scorned by her father for some mistake she had made. She expected Ruby would yell at her for breaking it, or at least for disturbing her sleep.

"It's okay, Weiss. I'm sure I can fix it." She smiled, but faltered when she saw how sad Weiss looked. That wasn't something she'd seen before. Annoyed, sure. Even happy but pretending not to be. But sad? That was new, and quite unwelcome. It tugged at her heart, making her want to make whatever was making her sad go away. Looking down at the pieces, she wondered if they might be the cause.

She rushed to shove them into the nightstand drawer, wanting them to be out of Weiss's sight. Smiling guilty, she patted Weiss on the shoulders and glanced between her and Blake. "I think we should take a cue from Yang and get back to sleep." Both Weiss and Black agreed, and the room gradually settled back into a calm silence after Blake shut off the lamp.

Sleep didn't come easy for either Ruby or Weiss, however. Both of them laid there in silence, staring upwards and getting lost in their thoughts. For Ruby, she was worried about Weiss, wondering what was going on in her head. As for Weiss, she was worried about what Ruby thought about her for what she'd done. She also worried about her nightmare, and her own sanity. This was getting ridiculous. Ever since she'd met Ruby, what had once been a crystal clear path in her life had become twisted and muddled. She was no longer sure of what she was doing, or even her own feelings.

That wasn't something Ruby knew. Not for sure, anyway. With how slow Weiss was to perk back up to her normal, biting self the next morning, however, Ruby knew something was still the matter. She had a feeling it was because of the statue, and she blamed herself for bringing it there. The reason why Weiss freaked out over it was still a mystery to her, but she knew that it was an issue all the same. It made her feel twinges of guilt.

She waited until Weiss wasn't in the room before she fixed up the statue. Some glue did the trick for the wings, though she didn't have any painting tools to fix the back. She would just have to hope that whoever owned it wouldn't be too mad. So she took it down to the lost and found, leaving it there and walking back to the dorm. She still couldn't shake the guilt she had over Weiss, though. It felt like she needed to do something, but she didn't know what.

Those feelings were compounded with the fact that Weiss was still having nightmares. It hadn't been easy to drag that information out of her, but she finally cajoled Weiss into admitting it. That just made her feelings of guilt worse, knowing that someone she really cared about was being haunted during her sleep. Was it her fault that Weiss was having nightmares? Even if it wasn't, she needed to do something about it. Doing nothing wasn't going to cut it.

She'd considered suggesting that the two of them sleep in the same bed, under the assumption that her presence might chase away the nightmares. That wasn't a suggestion she thought about for long, though. She had no doubt that Weiss would get embarrassed and vehemently refuse to do that. Since that was a 'dead before arrival' idea, and since she couldn't stay up all night watching Weiss, she decided that she'd do her best to protect her in the daytime instead.

Sure, she knew that Weiss would be furious if she knew Ruby was deliberately watching out for her. "I can take care of myself!" That's what she'd say. In her mind, this was what she needed to do, though. She wanted Weiss to be safe and happy. Not that she didn't want Yang or Blake to be safe and happy too, but... For some reason, she felt even more protective of Weiss. She knew that it was because of the connection they had: the one that neither of them could explain. At this point, she knew better than to question it. She wasn't likely to get an answer.

That all eventually led Team RWBY into the forest. They were there to take out a couple Grimm that had been meandering deep in the forest. Nothing they couldn't handle. Everybody was on the alert while moving through the forest, but Ruby was the most alert of all. In her mind, she felt that finding the Grimm first and killing it would protect Weiss. Then they could have a good day together, and maybe there wouldn't be any nightmares. That was what she hoped for, anyway.

She was paying attention to every little sound, hoping that it'd lead her to whatever Grimm was around there. When she heard a rustling in the bushes, her hand automatically went to her weapon. That could be it. Grabbing and unfurling her weapon, she crept up to the shaking bush. Then she slashed Crescent Rose down, cleaving the bush in two. Several rabbits bolted from the bush, chittering in fear.

"Huh..." Ruby could only laugh quietly at herself. She had never been so careless about this kind of thing before. Thinking about Weiss was really messing with her judgement. How else could she explain attacking a bush full of rabbits? Alright, she had to push that silliness aside now. There was still a Grimm or two around somewhere. One that probably would make some kind of huffing, grunting noise, just like she could hear behind her- Aww heck.

She whirled around, just in time to see a Beowolf leaping for her. Her hand immediately tightened around Crescent Rose, her leg muscles tightening as she prepared to spring to the side. Just as she was about to move, and as the Beowolf was about to sink its claws into her flesh, a white glyph appeared right in front of her. The Beowolf slammed into it, dropping to the ground with momentary confusion.

That moment was enough for another glyph to appear. Weiss jumped onto it, launching herself forward and over the Beowulf, slicing across its back with Myrtenaster. It reared back and howled as Weiss landed smoothly, whirling around to spin her dust chamber around. It landed on red, and the blade glowed appropriately as she pulled the trigger. Slashing Myrtenaster down, she sent a wave of fire right into the Grimm's side.

It howled again, turning its attention to Weiss as it prepared to lunge at her. That ended up being its fatal mistake. Before it could take more than a couple steps towards Weiss, Ruby had set upon it. With a high-pitched yell, she skidded over and brought Crescent Rose up, slicing it through the air. It connected with the Beowulf's neck, and then its head was _dis_ connected. Without a certain critical component of its existence, the rest of the body fell to the ground before it dissipated like shadows in the forest air.

"Awesome..." Ruby whispered, staring in awe at Weiss. That had been performed so flawlessly, like she had planned it all in her head on the run there. She really was as wonderful as she looked... That sounded more flirty than she had intended. She merely meant that Weiss looked very regal in every situation, and okay, she looked really mad now.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Weiss stormed over towards Ruby, her weapon still drawn and pointed right at Ruby's face. She 'eep'ed and backed up, sticking her hands - and Crescent Rose - in the air. "How could our team leader be so distracted that she doesn't see an obvious Grimm approaching her from behind? Are you dense or something?!"

"Uh, I..." Ruby kept backing up until her back hit a tree, giving her no more room to move. "I was, uh..." Couldn't she admit at least most of the truth? They'd already been doing that, after all. Biting her lower lip, she looked down at the grass. "I was distracted because I was thinking of you."

"What?" She glanced up to find Weiss blushing, her hand dropping to her side and thankfully removing the sword from right in front of her face. "You... Unbelievable! I knew you had a tendency to daydream, but in a situation like this?! Careless, clumsy... Ugh!" She stomped her foot against the earth, her grip tightening on Myrtenaster. "What if you had gotten yourself killed here? What would I have done then?"

"I..." Ruby gulped, feeling even smaller under Weiss's angry stare. In that stare, however, she could see fear. It was hidden away, but she could see it behind those layers of fury. "I'm sorry, Weiss. I-" A low growl caught both of their attention, and they turned at the same time to find a second Beowolf had joined the party. It didn't waste time, instantly charging forward towards them.

Quick as a flash, both girls dodged out of the way. The Beowolf charged right through where they'd been standing, slamming right into the tree. It shook off the blow quickly, however, making an about-face and charging again. "I'm not through yelling at you!" Weiss shouted as she spun her dust chamber again. This time it landed on blue, and she stabbed the blade into the ground. A line of ice shot forward, catching the Beowolf's legs and freezing it in place.

"I said I was sorry!" Ruby shouted back, dashing forward and slicing right through the frozen Grimm with her weapon. As it collapsed to the ground, she turned towards Weiss and tried to look as apologetic as she could. The adrenaline pumping through her veins made it a bit difficult, however. "I wanted to protect you!" Wait, that was what she wasn't supposed to say out loud. Seeing a fresh glaze of anger reach Weiss's eyes made her doubly sure she shouldn't have said that.

"Protect me? From the Grimm? Are you serious?!" She yanked her sword out of the ground and sheathed it, hotly storming over towards Ruby again. That Grimm interruption had truly been just temporary, and now they were right back to where they'd been. Ruby didn't back up this time, but she did put away her own weapon before attempting to look contrite. "You think I can't handle them?!"

"No, that's not it at all!" Weiss stopped right in front of Ruby, arms crossed and eyes glaring at her. "I know that you can fight Grimm! It's just that I... I wanted to protect you! Because of the nightmares!" That seemed to catch Weiss off guard. Her arms fell to her sides, her glare fading into confusion. "When you had those nightmares... I know it was my fault. Because of that statue I put on the nightstand."

"This is all because of that stupid statue? How could you have known that it'd give me nightmares, you idiot? Not that it... did that, or anything." She blushed, realizing how stupid it sounded to admit that a simple angel statue had given her nightmares. There was certainly a better explanation than that... She hoped. "You'd better not get yourself hurt, or worse, just because you feel guilty and think I need protection." Still a bit frustrated, she put her hands on Ruby's shoulders, planning to scold her a bit more. However, when she stared into those wide, silver eyes, she suddenly lost the desire to keep going with what she'd been saying. She didn't want to talk anymore. Her head dipped forward slightly without her giving herself a conscious command. She felt drawn towards Ruby, like her eyes had been a net waiting for her to fall into its trap.

Wait, what the hell was she doing?! Red blossomed on her face as she backed away. Had she just been about to _kiss_ Ruby? When she'd been so angry just seconds before? Preposterous! That was... That was inappropriate, considering the circumstances! There was no way she had been about to do that. She didn't feel that way about her! She... She was positive she didn't. Very sure. Pretty... sure about that.

"Weiss..." Now Ruby was the one putting her hands on Weiss's shoulders. She was the one leaning in, making Weiss's eyes widen in shock. Her body wouldn't move, wouldn't allow her to try and be sensible about this. Ruby's eyes closed, and then her lips pressed against Weiss's. She whimpered, muffled against Ruby's lips. For a moment, her entire body was tensed up. Then like a wave crashing down on her, all of the tension was released from her body. Her eyes fluttered shut as she kissed Ruby back.

It was incredibly warm. Of course, she'd come to expect that from Ruby. Whenever they touched each other, there was always a noticeable transfer of warmth, so this was no exception. Ruby seemed to be torn between being cautiously slow and rambunctiously energetic, unsure of which one was going to win out. Weiss's hands moved to Ruby's hips, resting gently on them. And that was when she felt it: a rush to the brain that hit her like a truck.

It was powerful enough to force her away from Ruby. She stumbled back, eyes wide as she stared at Ruby. Something was different, though. The sunlight streaming down into the forest was much brighter than it'd been just moments before. Ruby's entire being just seemed so... serene, bathed in this glow. Behind her back, fluttering softly against the light breeze were a pair of snow-white wings. Every gilded feather seemed perfectly placed, so...

She blinked, and they were gone. The wings, the light: it was like none of it had existed. There was just the forest, and Ruby staring at her with a look that she was sure had been the same on her face. She wanted to ask her usual question: "What in the world was that?" She knew the answer, though: "I don't know." Her mind was swimming, so many questions without any answers stuck in her mind. Why couldn't things just be simple?

"You... saw that, didn't you?" Ruby mumbled, her legs feeling surprisingly weak. She forced herself to remain standing, trying to wrap her head around what had just happened. What she had seen wasn't even stranger than the fact that she'd kissed Weiss. Why had she done that? She certainly didn't regret it, but... Wow, what a way to have a hallucinogenic experience.

"Yeah..." Weiss felt embarrassed at what she was about to say, but she felt it was important to tell the truth about what she'd seen. "You were still standing there, but the lighting was different. I don't know how to explain it, but it was. And on your back... you had wings. White wings, with a gilded glow around the edges of the feathers. You were... You were an angel." She felt a little bit better that she wasn't the only one blushing due to that.

"Well, you were too. I... I think." Ruby quieted down, staring down at the ground. Weiss waited for her to continue, but she didn't. Just as she was about to ask what was going on, she finally finished up. Sort of. "So just, like, the same as what you saw." That was it? She didn't sound very sure of what she was saying. Suspicious...

"Uh huh..." Weiss folded her arms, staring at Ruby. She didn't look back up. "I know you're hiding something from me. Weren't you the one who wanted us to say exactly what we saw and felt so that we could figure out what the hell was going on? So come on, out with it. I won't ask you again."

"Alright, alright!" Ruby sighed, rubbing her arm awkwardly as she gave Weiss a sidelong glance. "You, uh... You had wings too. And the air around us became really hot. Almost oppressively so. But it felt comforting, you know? Despite what that sounds like. Whatever it was, it disappeared so quickly, but... Your wings were different than what you saw on me. They were black, like they'd been burned in a fire. You had horns too, which were also black. They were, uh, curved, and there were little flickers of fire around you..." She trailed off as Weiss just stared at her, dumbfounded.

"So I was a... demon." She wanted to find that hard to believe. She wanted to hear Ruby say it was a joke, even if joking about that would make her mad. Ruby's expression didn't change, though, except to look a bit guilty. "Oh." She didn't know what to say after that. Hearing that in the most intense vision they'd had yet, she appeared to Ruby as a _demon_ , made her feel... awful. A wave of something close to nausea started to batter her stomach, cutting her concentration in half.

"It was just a vision, though! Like a hallucination!" For once, it was Ruby who was trying to play off what had happened as nothing more than mania. "You're not a demon, Weiss! You're uh, really really awesome! That, that didn't mean anything!"

"Not a demon, huh? Okay then. What else did you notice in your vision? What was I wearing?"

"Uh... Not, uh... Not anything, exactly... I mean, you weren't naked! Your body was covered in black... scales, I guess." Her voice got quieter, feeling worse with every word she said. "And you had a... a pointed tail..."

"So a demon, then."

"M-Maybe you were a manta ray." Ruby sighed, knowing how stupid that sounded. It didn't take a genius to see that Weiss wasn't exactly taking it well. "Weiss, I-"

"Ruby, it's alright. You can't control what you saw." She smiled slightly, though Ruby noticed it didn't reach her eyes. "So it would seem that we've learned more about where exactly our connection stems from, and we've cleared the forest of those two Grimm."

"Oh, yeah, right..." She'd completely forgotten about the Grimm. Her mind had pushed it out after the kiss. Something that had felt so incredible had turned into something unintentionally demoralizing. She hadn't meant for this to happen. There was no way for her to have known, but once again she felt guilty. It was like the statue all over again. "We should talk about the... the visions."

"I agree, but... not right now. I need some time." Ruby looked like she was going to argue, but Weiss put up a hand to stop her. "We will talk about it, Ruby. I promise you. Not right now, though. I need some time alone." With that, Weiss turned and started to walk away from the clearing. Despite her words, Ruby automatically went after her. Weiss stopped, having heard Ruby's footsteps behind her. "Ruby, stop. Don't follow me. I mean it."

"But-"

"Don't!" Weiss whirled around, glaring at Ruby. She shirked back instantly, a reaction she wished she could take back. It immediately washed the anger off of Weiss's face, and Ruby hated to see the guilt replace it. "I... I'm sorry, Ruby. Please, just don't follow me." She turned back around to continue taking her leave. This time Ruby didn't follow, her posture slumping in defeat.

"Great..." She muttered crossly to herself, wrapping her arms around her torso. Eventually she left for the forest's edge as well, making sure that she didn't go too fast and accidentally catch up with Weiss. She wanted to so badly, but she could tell that it would make things worse if she did. Leaving Weiss alone when she was feeling like this would be bad, though... God, she didn't know what to do! It was all so frustrating, all over again. She would give Weiss time, but she would make sure to find her soon enough. How could she forgive herself if something bad happened to her?

With the two of them having exited the clearing, Blake and Yang decided to pop out from their hiding places. Blake slinked out from behind a tree, while Yang popped out of a bush, grumbling as she shook leaves out of her hair. "Uh, did... Did any of that make sense to you?" Blake spoke after a couple moments of silence, standing next to Yang and staring off at where the other two members of their team had vanished.

"Kind of..." Yang frowned slightly, putting a hand on her hip. Despite having had Ruby explain to her what was going on, hearing the two of them casually talk about angels and demons left her baffled. Whatever it was truly about, however, it had clearly made Weiss upset, and Ruby upset in turn. "So they're... angels, I guess? Or, uh, an angel and a demon? Wow, I can't believe I just said that out loud."

"I can't really believe it either." It made Blake feel bad, but she couldn't help but feel that Ruby and Weiss were... perhaps a bit unhinged. She wasn't going to take that step and say that they were both completely bonkers, but honestly, this was a bit too much to take. She'd done her best to take in what Yang had told her before, and to even offer suggestions as to what it could be. It wasn't something that she believed in, though, and to hear those two talk about it without a hint of doubt... It only served to make her feel more doubtful.

"Well, no matter what it is, Ruby's my sister. I can't stand here and do nothing while she's feeling down. There has to be something I can do!" She punched her palm, frustrated. No matter what she thought about what she heard, or what she personally believed, she had to go find Ruby. She needed to help sort this out. Whatever 'this' was. "I'm going to find her!" Pulling a small twig out of her hair, she tossed it to the ground and began to sprint out of the clearing.

"Wait, Yang! Stop! What am I supposed to do?!" Yang didn't bother answering, leaving Blake by herself. "Yang! ... We didn't even get to kill the Grimm... This would've been easier if Professor Ozpin had sent Team JNPR instead.


	5. Chapter 5

Weiss knew that she wouldn't get much alone time if she went back to the dorm. That would be the first place Ruby looked. Instead, she decided to hole herself up in a public bathroom. It wasn't the ideal place, but she didn't have anywhere else to go. This wasn't the Schnee Manor, where she could lock herself in her room when the need suited her. The bathroom stall would have to do.

There was someone washing their hands when she walked in, but they didn't pay any attention to her as she calmly walked into one of the stalls. After locking it, she slowly sat down on the toilet and allowed her composure to crumble. Her bottom lip trembled as she put her face in her hands, tears already beginning to fall from her eyes. It didn't long for her body to be wracked by silent sobs, her tears cascading down her cheeks like a miserable waterfall. She hadn't expected this. In her wildest dreams, ever since she first felt that connection with Ruby, she hadn't expected to feel so wretched.

Her feelings for Ruby had been growing. It had been a slow process, but when she finally realized it, she tried to ignore it. There was just something about her that wouldn't let her admit that she had something akin to romantic feelings for someone, especially not for Ruby. Not that clumsy, eager dolt. But the feelings were there. Whatever their connection was, it must've been exacerbating those feelings: making them stronger than they had any right to be. It was why Ruby had looked like an angel to her. That must've been it. The vision was just showing what she couldn't admit to herself: that Ruby was an angelic person with nothing but good intentions for everyone she met. She was... She was a lovely person. Everything Weiss wasn't.

She wasn't blind to what others thought of her. Her ears weren't deaf to the occasional whispers of 'Ice Queen'. She knew what her reputation was, and she'd never cared. At times it even emboldened her. Having her peers fear or loathe her? Perhaps even both? That just meant she was doing something right. Ruby had begun to change that, though. Spending time with her teammate without it being for another purpose. To have someone actually want to be near her, without an ulterior reason. It was... different. She was still somewhat unsure of how she felt about it, but she couldn't deny that she had become more and more used to being around Ruby. There was a certain comfort with having someone who was practically her opposite acting as a balance to her.

It didn't matter, though. In Ruby's eyes, she was a demon. Someone like her... If she had a connection to a denizen of Hell, how could she possibly be with Ruby? How could they be connected when there was such a difference between them? Sure, they were opposites, but that was nothing compared to the differences between angels and demons. Surely she would be as lowly as an insect to Ruby. There was no way their connection was anything but adversarial.

The tears fell longer than she expected. She didn't know her body had that many tears to shed. It hurt more than she felt like it should've. She tried to tell her mind what she'd thought many times before: that she and Ruby were just teammates. Friends, maybe, but certainly not something more than that. The connection... It meant nothing. As much as she tried to convince herself of that, one thought pervaded over all others: it wasn't true.

The connection existed, and it did mean something. Otherwise, neither of them would've felt the things they felt when they made contact with each other. They wouldn't have seen the visions of each other that they'd seen. And they certainly wouldn't have kissed in that out-of-the-blue moment in the forest. She'd taken Ruby's first kiss, certainly... A supposed demon like her, besmirching the lips of a supposed angel like Ruby. How awful.

Eventually the tears stopped falling. She knew that she couldn't stay hidden in the bathroom stall all day, but she didn't want to go back to the dorm. If she did, she knew that she'd have to face Ruby, and she couldn't do it right now. What was she supposed to do? Pretend that hadn't happened? She wanted to: so damn badly. If only she could just erase what Ruby had seen from her memory. Then they could continue on like normal. As teammates, as friends. As anything but what they clearly were: opposites connected by a cruel twist of fate.

As she slowly calmed down from her emotional episode, the logical side of her brain kicked in to try and save her from any more miserable thoughts. She couldn't deny that there was a connection between her and Ruby. That was well established now, but she had probable cause to deny her feelings. After all, if she was a demon, she wouldn't feel any sort of love or affection for an angel. So those feelings couldn't be real. It had to be some sort of delusion due to the shock of having to come to terms with the otherworldly connection they shared. Surely that affected Ruby too.

She didn't really feel better after thinking that, but it at least made sense. It allowed her to dry her eyes and get back up on her feet. She didn't have to spend the rest of the day hiding from Ruby. That was a cowardly way of handling her problem, and a Schnee was not a coward. She could go right up to Ruby and speak to her like a normal person: like a teammate. That connection... It wasn't a good thing. It couldn't be. She wasn't good enough- _'No!'_ It wasn't that she wasn't good enough for Ruby. There was nothing between them. It was all some psychosis incident that they were both going through. She would just calmly explain that to Ruby, and she'd have to believe it. Maybe she'd even believe it too.

She exited the bathroom with her head held high, walking back towards the dorm.

* * *

"She wasn't in the sparring room." Yang frowned as she watched Ruby pace in a circle, tugging on her hair. She was in a worried frenzy, her mind running a mile a minute trying to think of some other place where Weiss might've gone. "Look, she probably wants to be left alone right now. She'll come back to the dorm before it's time to sleep. Where else would she go?"

"But..." Ruby stopped her pacing, biting her lower lip as she stared at Yang. She was a bit frustrated at her sister, honestly. Not being able to find Weiss was driving her mad, and Yang was acting like Weiss was a lost pet. _'She'll come home when she's hungry and tired.'_ Something like that. She remembered her dad telling her that when their dog had run off for a few hours when she was a kid. Weiss wasn't a dog, though! She was human - well, kind of? - and she was in pain. Ruby knew it, and now she was God knows where in the academy. They couldn't just give up! "But we have to find her! Have we checked every bathroom?"

"There's too many to check them all." Blake sighed. It didn't seem like anything they said had an effect on her. "Yang's right, Ruby. She'll come back to the dorm eventually. I doubt a princess like her has any experience camping in the woods."

"Neither of you care! You just want to give up on her! But I'm not going to!" Tears fell from Ruby's eyes, her hand coming up to cover her mouth when she realized what she'd said. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean... I didn't mean to say that..."

"It's okay, Ruby. I understand you're worried." Yang walked over and gave Ruby a tight hug, rubbing her back soothingly. "You've done everything you can do for now. We should go back to the dorm now. If she hasn't shown up by tomorrow morning, I promise you we'll all go looking for her." Blake coughed in the background. "We'll _all_ go looking for her." Ruby locked eyes with her sister, whimpering quietly as she nodded. "Alright, let's go back to the dorm. We can tease Blake about her choice in literature before bed. How about that?"

"Maybe I should go missing too." Blake rolled her eyes, but she smiled softly when she heard Ruby giggle. At least she was more agreeable now. If she had to be a sacrifice of sorts to help calm Ruby down, then she was amenable to that. The three of them walked back to their dorm, the atmosphere still tense, but not as oppressively so as it had been moments ago. Yang was doing a good job of keeping Ruby entertained the entire way back. Blake was actually pretty impressed with her big sister skills.

When they got back to the dorm, Yang opened the door and took a step inside. Then she froze in place, blocking the other two from entering. She could hardly believe what she was seeing: lying on her bed, perusing through her scroll, was none other than the Ice Queen herself. "Weiss?"

"What?! Weiss?!" Ruby squeaked behind Yang, jumping up and down to try and see over Yang's shoulder. Yang finally moved out of the way, letting Ruby barrel into the room and stare wide-eyed at the formerly-missing Schnee. "Weiss? What are you doing here?" Weiss looked up from her scroll, quirking an eyebrow.

"I'm checking my mail. And you?" The other three just stood there, flabbergasted. They hadn't even checked the dorm because Ruby had claimed that'd be the last place Weiss would go. None of them spoke, with Weiss eyeing all of them. She seemed to be waiting for someone else to break the silence, but when nobody did, she went back to looking at her scroll. That activated Ruby's tear ducts again.

"How can you act so calm?! I was worried sick about you!" Ruby stomped her foot against the ground, not even caring if their downstairs neighbors complained. She was crying again, her vision blurring to the point where she could barely see Weiss lower her scroll to look at her. "I couldn't find you anywhere! You can't just do that, Weiss! I didn't know whether or not you were gonna come back!"

"Of course I was going to come back. This is where I live, after all. Where else would I go?" For a moment, her confidence faltered. Seeing Ruby crying was slowly tearing her heart in half, but she was doing her best to ignore it. Ruby was just overwhelmed by the emotions of their connection. When she calmed down, she'd feel differently.

"Why didn't you just tell me, then?!" Some of her words were choked by her sobs. Yang came over to try and calm her down, but she shrugged her off and stormed to the bed, where she grabbed Weiss by the shoulders. "I could tell you were sad, and you wouldn't tell me what was wrong... Why can't you tell me? What did I do wrong?"

"Nothing!" That wasn't what she had meant at all! She hadn't wanted Ruby to blame herself. Squirming in Ruby's grasp, she found herself face to face with the teary eyes of a girl she found herself caring way too much about. It was destroying her heart, making her feel even worse than before. "There's nothing to tell. I just wanted to get back to the dorm to lay down." She felt like she had to lie. It felt like that would make Ruby stop crying if she believed her. She just needed to understand. She... She would understand, surely.

"Liar! Don't lie to me, Weiss!" The room was charged with tension. Blake and Yang were standing by the door side-eyeing each other, feeling incredibly awkward. They didn't know whether to leave to give the two their space, or to stay in case they got more out of control. Ruby's voice dropped to a tearful whisper, as if she remembered that their other teammates were in the room. "We're supposed to be friends! We're... We're connected! You're the only one who understands what I saw."

"I understand exactly what you saw!" Weiss's voice dropped to a whisper as well, her words biting as she narrowed her eyes. "You saw what I am! I'm a demon! I can't believe I'm putting any stock into that... but it's what you saw." She crossed her arms, resisting the urge to wipe Ruby's tears away. "The only reason we're connected is because we must've fought each other in the past. Or I cursed you. Something like that."

"That's not true! I don't believe it!" Ruby rubbed at her eyes with her arm, but new tears kept covering the old ones. "I would never want to fight you! You're too important to me! You're my teammate, my friend, my... Weiss, I feel things about you-"

"You saw me as a demon, didn't you, Ruby? Tell me the truth." She had to interrupt her. If she'd allowed Ruby to say what she figured she was going to say... She may well have started crying again, and she had to stay strong. For Ruby as much as herself.

"Yes, but-"

"And I saw you as an angel. A... A beautiful angel. I know how you described me. Horns and darkened scales. How could something so ugly-"

"Don't! Don't you _dare_ say that!" She grabbed the front of Weiss's shirt, feeling like her heart was being stabbed. It was awful to hear her say those things. How could she even think she was ugly? She hated it. It wasn't a hatred directed towards Weiss, but towards those negative thoughts. They had no right to exist. "You are _not_ ugly! I know what I saw too, and I saw you exactly as you are. Beautiful, regal..." She smiled a watery smile as she lifted a hand up to place it on the top of Weiss's head. "Even with your horns, and your scales."

"What are you even saying, Ruby?" She didn't realize that she'd started to cry as well. Her tears fell silent and slow, unable to believe what Ruby was saying. Of course, she didn't know what her... 'afterlife' form, whatever she should call it, looked like. She couldn't just go look in a mirror and see it. She had to be ugly, though. That's what demons were: ugly, evil, miserable. All she'd learned from her religious studies taught her that. It couldn't be different just because it was her. "Demons aren't worthy of being near angels. Don't you know anything?"

"I know that I don't care about that." Ruby dropped her hand to wipe away Weiss's tears, which alerted her to the fact that she'd been crying. "I wouldn't care if all of you were demons. I'd love you all just the same. I'd still care about you all just the same. Nothing that I've seen has changed how I feel about you."

"It's changed how I feel, though! You don't understand, dammit!" Weiss curled her hand into a fist and punched the bed in frustration. She couldn't make Ruby understand, or see the truth right in front of her. "You're too good for me! I've seen how nice you are to everyone, how loving and energetic you are... I can understand how those things would make you an angel. Everything good about you... It makes you glow. Even I've been able to see it. What good thing about me could possibly make my demonic nature a positive?"

Ruby gawked at her, at a loss for words. Just as Weiss figured. Not even Ruby could spin this into a positive, as much as she might try. It was nice of her to try, of course. That was just what angels like her would do: see the best in someone. Not her, though. There was no 'best' in her. Just the worst the pits of Hell had to offer. "It would be better if we didn't talk to each other about this again."

"Weiss..." Ruby choked back a sob, shutting her eyes as her grip tightened on Weiss's shirt. "No, please... We're so close to finding out our past. I just know it. We can't stop now. I know whatever's connecting us isn't bad. If it was, why would we be able to find each other like this?" Weiss didn't have a good answer for that, so she just kept quiet. "Whatever people have said about demons, they don't know about how caring you are. Underneath that rough exterior of yours, under your demonic scales... is a real angel. One who's beautiful and kind and is too wonderful to be thinking such terrible things about herself."

"Ruby... That is so cheesy." Weiss laughed softly, lifting a hand up to duplicate Ruby's previous action and wipe away her tears. "I'm going to pretend you didn't say that and give you another chance to say something else."

"Then I'll say the same thing again! You're the real angel, Weiss. I can't find out the truth about our previous lives without you, and I wouldn't try. Getting close to you like this... It makes me happy I got another chance to rediscover you. Even if we try and try and never find out exactly who we were, I'll be okay with it. Because I still have you in my life, and that's what I want. No matter what kind of creature you are, you're too important to me to ever lose you." She could see the tears in Weiss's eyes: her lips opening in a likely attempt at a rebuttal. Refusing to give her a negative word in edgewise, she yanked Weiss towards her and crashed their lips together.

The dorm room seemed to disappear from their collective existence. Though their eyes squeezed shut upon contact with each other, it felt like they could still see everything around them. Everything faded out into a familiar white light, but then other colors burst out from it. Blues and gold painted the skies around them, just like in their dreams. Time seemed non-existent while they fell into each other's arms. It felt like not even the strong-armed creatures from Weiss's nightmares could pull them apart.

"Weiss..." She opened her eyes to find Ruby staring wide-eyed at her. They were clearly not in their dorm room anymore. It was like they had been transported into their dreams, but it was definitely real. Ruby even pinched herself to make sure. "Ow!"

"Don't do that, you dolt." She shook her head, but she could understand Ruby's need to make sure this was really happening. How had they even gotten there? That kiss must've truly been heavenly. It was then that she noticed that there was a difference in how Ruby looked. Resplendent in snow-white robes, with a glowing gold halo above her head, she looked exactly like how Weiss had seen her when they'd previously kissed. Which meant that she would look like she did during that kiss as well...

She tried to duck away, but Ruby wouldn't let her. Her hands cupped Weiss's face, forcing her to look directly at her. She frowned, feeling a growing annoyance towards Ruby. Why did she have to do that? She shouldn't have to look at someone so ugly, so unworthy. Yet she continued to persist.

"Don't do that, you dolt." Ruby giggled as Weiss glared at her for using her own insult against her. "I already told you you're beautiful, didn't I?"

"But-"

"Mnn mnn. I don't care who or what you are. That's never mattered to me." She softly caressed Weiss's cheek, smiling warmly at her. "You look like the most beautiful demon in all of Hell." Weiss blushed as she slapped at Ruby's hand, scowling at her. She could feel it, though. The warmth, such incredible strong feelings... She could see events passing through her vision, like they were being projected onto the clouds right behind Ruby. "Can you see them?" Ruby's voice had dropped to a whisper, her eyes widened in awe.

"Yeah..." Weiss whispered back, grabbing onto Ruby's robe tightly. She would have expected memories returning this vividly to be like a sledgehammer smashing against her brain. It was much more subtle, but no less powerful. Days and months seemed to pass by in mere moments, flying by too fast to get a firm grip on, yet feeling all-so clear. She pulled back to look into Ruby's eyes, and it truly felt like staring into the eyes of a long time partner. Those feelings that she had known Ruby somehow... They made so much sense now.

They both embraced each other at the same time, tears falling from both of their eyes. It wasn't from any negative emotions, though. This was the reveal they had been waiting for: the truth they'd been desperate to understand since their hands first brushed against each other on day one. Ruby laughed, running her fingers through Weiss's hair. She just wanted to make sure Weiss was actually real.

"Is this really happening?"

"Looks like it." Weiss smirked, letting herself get swept up in Ruby's irrepressible happiness. She eagerly pressed her lips against Weiss's, and she was more than happy to reciprocate. Her mind still held onto the thought that this was only their third kiss, but it felt like their thousandth. Ruby's lips felt too familiar, too warm for this to just be their third time. Every feeling circling their embrace felt too normal to be new sensations. They knew each other, for so long... They belonged together.

"I knew I would find you. I just knew it." Ruby's smile was so bright, Weiss wouldn't have been surprised if it was used to light up the entire kingdom. She hugged Weiss tightly, whispering in her ear. "I'm never letting you go. Never again. I'm never going to lose you again." Weiss just nodded against Ruby's shoulder, too overwhelmed to speak. She felt the same way, though. Remembering how she lost Ruby made the pain burn anew, but having her beautiful angel back in her arms soothed the pain just as quickly.

They held each other for what felt like an eternity, neither wanting to be the first to let the other go. All those years being apart... They both silently feared that letting the other go might restart the process. That they might return to Remnant with their memories jumbled and lost. They eventually had to separate, their arms moving back to their sides as they stared at each other, just waiting for something to change.

Nothing did. They remained together in the bluest of skies, drawn together by an irresistible urge, an unshakable connection that not even the strongest Seraphs in Heaven could shatter. In mortal time, they'd lost seventeen years together. For an angel or a demon, that was no time at all. But for an angel and a demon in love, it felt much, much longer.

They embraced again, their lips tingling from each kiss like it was their first one. Tears still leaked from their eyes, and they occasionally laughed with big smiles on their faces. Their true reunion felt like the most perfect moment, and both of them were content to stay like that forever. And as they floated there, their wings slowly flapping up and down as they stared into each other's eyes, they had both completely forgotten about their two teammates.

Blake and Yang were still standing by the door, watching Ruby and Weiss hug and kiss each other on the bed. Neither of them seemed to be aware that they were there, if what they were saying was to be believed. Most of their words were whispered, but Blake heard all of it loud and clear.

"So..." Blake mumbled awkwardly, glancing over at Yang. "I guess they... solved their problems." Despite what Yang had told her about the otherworldly connections, she still had a hard time wrapping her mind around what she had heard the two of them speak of regarding angels and demons. She wasn't sure if she should be happy for them for solving whatever problems they were having, or if she should call the academy's psychiatrist. Maybe both.

"Seems like it." Yang chuckled quietly, patting Blake's shoulder. "Let's let them have their moment, at least." They both stood there for another five seconds. "Alright, there we go." She walked over to the bed, grabbing Ruby and pulling her away from Weiss. "Alright, break it up, lovebirds! You're making Blake jealous."

"Hey! I didn't say that!"


	6. Chapter 6

"It still feels a bit weird to have all these old memories back in my head." Ruby had her head in Weiss's lap, staring up at the clear blue sky. The two of them were out on the grass between the academy and the forest, just enjoying the quiet and the fresh air together. "It's like there's two lives inside of me, and I sometimes wake up and forget which one I'm living."

"It's all your life, Ruby. Well... You weren't technically alive before you came down here, so you have one life, and one... Hmm... You know what? Yes, two lives. Semantics." Weiss then poked Ruby's nose, frowning slightly. "You shouldn't have tried to follow me down here, though. What if something bad had happened to you? I would have never been able to forgive myself."

"You wouldn't have known anyway." That earned Ruby another harder poke, this time on her cheek. "Besides, I had to do it so I could find you. Life, or whatever you want to call it, isn't the same without you." She grabbed Weiss's hand and squeezed it, looking over to smile up at her. Weiss couldn't help but smile back, even if she was still a little miffed that Ruby risked her eternity just to come looking for her.

"Well, you're lucky that it worked out the way it did." They _both_ were lucky. She agreed with Ruby: life wasn't worth living without her, and she was determined to never do so again. Even if she had to die a thousand deaths, each as painful as her rebirth had been, she'd do it in a heartbeat if it meant she'd stay with Ruby. She leaned down and gently kissed Ruby, smiling against her lips. "I love you, my angel."

"And I love you, my demon." She giggled and pulled Weiss down for another kiss, feeling more at peace than she had in the last seventeen years. All that time apart wasn't going to magically become worth it, but she had Weiss back now. They were together, just as they had always been fated to be. The time apart may still hurt, but it was now a past hurt. Now they could just pick right back up from where they left off. It didn't matter that they were on Remnant now. She would shower Weiss with her immortal love until her mortal body threatened to burst, and she knew that Weiss felt the same.

"So, we've got about sixty or seventy years left here, give or take. What should we do?" Time had been inconsequential to them before. Now they were beholden to it, and everything seemed so much slower than before, especially now that they were aware of their previous selves.

"Well, we just live, I guess." Ruby slowly sat up, scooting next to Weiss and laying her head on her shoulder. "It's not so bad, right? Yang and Blake are awesome, and fighting evil as a huntress is something I was trained for anyway." She gulped when she noticed Weiss side-eyeing her. "I didn't mean you! You're not evil, darling. You're the best demon I've ever met." Weiss quirked an eyebrow, chuckling quietly.

"And how many demons have you met, exactly?"

"Just you." Ruby smiled, like that was an acceptable answer. Weiss just rolled her eyes, but she wasn't actually mad. She knew what Ruby meant, and she was done with the worries and the misunderstandings. Those feelings of inadequacy in the face of Ruby's purity would never truly go away. They were just something that seemed naturally ingrained into the core of her being. It was something that she could push aside before it got too overwhelming, though. She could do it for Ruby, whose love she had no reason to doubt.

"Alright then. So we'll be huntresses." Wrapping an arm around Ruby's torso, she looked at the towering Beacon Academy, narrowing her focus on where the balcony of their dorm was. Inside, Blake and Yang were likely studying. Or, Blake was likely studying, and Yang was horsing around. She laughed to herself, surprised that she was able to find common ground with any of these people. She hadn't even been able to play 'nice' with her fellow demons. The fact that she could be relatively civil with humans was a miracle. "You're right, it's... not so bad here."

"Because we're here together." Ruby softly kissed Weiss's cheek, feeling the warmth through her partner's usually-cold exterior. The sheer irony, if she thought about it for a second. "It doesn't matter where we are, as long as we're together. I'll fight all the Grimm in Remnant and all the Seraphs in Heaven if it means keeping you by my side." For a moment, her eyes blazed with conviction. Then they returned to normal, but Weiss knew better than to doubt what Ruby said.

"I'm not going anywhere, Ruby. Not this time." She rested her head on top of Ruby's, sighing contently. Where she belonged was no longer a place. It was wherever Ruby was. With Ruby by her side, she could deal with the crawl of decades on Remnant. This was just another step back to eternity, and she would take each step hand in hand with her beloved. "You'll just have to deal with me for the rest of time."

"That's not enough for me." They kissed again, closing their eyes and allowing the rest of the world to fade away. Sometimes, when it was just the two of them, they would open their eyes and be floating outside Heaven again, safe in their own world. It wasn't bad to snap back to their current reality, however. They were always next to each other when it was all said and done.

Together, they had their own little sanctuary: a piece of the afterlife on Remnant. There was no one else she would believe loved her despite her demonic form. Every day, it seemed that Ruby found a new way to worm her way into her heart, making her feel warmer than the deepest pits of Hell ever did. She didn't need those comforts of home - or, often, discomforts, as it were. Not when Ruby's arms felt more like home than Hell ever had.

Wherever Ruby was... That was where she could truly bloom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't start writing this expecting it to be this long, but I just kept writing without end. It was better to split it into chapters than making y'all read over 23,000 words at once. This is just a short epilogue to give everything a nice little ending. I hope y'all enjoyed it, and I'd love to hear what you guys thought of it!


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